Demon Love
by The Green Seer
Summary: Sequel to 'The Power Within': What happens when you find your love on the battle field? Would you give up everything for that person? RaiKim; ClayXOC; Warning: Mary-Sue up ahead because we all have written one at least once in our lives.
1. Lost in Memories

**The sequel to "The Power Within" is finally here! I've actually put it once but decided it was best if I'd finished my first story. Now, the second part will include one of my OC so please be kind with me.**

**This is the prologue, so have fun minna!**

**Re-edited! :) **

**Lost in Memories**

I was running, continuously running. From what, I had no idea, however, it was essential not to stop. I couldn't understand but I couldn't bring myself to think too much of it either. I felt like a cold hand gripped my heart, squeezing it slowly, twisting it without any mercy…it scared me to no ends. The darkness ruled in my sight and only my heavy breathing told me how much time passed, agonizingly fast in my opinion. Warm trickles ran down my face. I licked the salty substance from the corner of my mouth. The tears made the claw in my chest tighten its grip.

I desperately wanted to get rid of that painful sensation. I would have done anything to make it stop but running proved to be a futile attempt. They would always chase me, haunt every corner of my existence no matter how much I strived to tuned them out. So pathetic, I mused sardonically.

I light glimmered somewhere in front of me. Its warmth prickled my skin and joy bubbled in my chest releasing my heart from that icy grasp. I stretched out my arm and ever so slowly, it approached until I could almost clasp my hand around it. But a blink was enough for the moment to vanish, as if it had never happened. Whatever was keeping me in the blackness gave away and my body did the same. I plunged in the mute abyss with nothing to hold on to, no one to reach out for me.

My eyes flickered open. Gradually pulling myself up, I glanced around my surroundings. The walls were painted in a warm orange, the floor was made of marble and a red carpet rested in its middle. A low wooden table was set on the carpet with a teapot and two cups. There was a window on the right side of the room letting in an odor from the lake. I could see a red sky and strange birds flying. In front of me there stood a marble arcade. Two pink satin curtains covered the arcade letting the room to be lighten by some gleams in the corners.

An eerily familiar voice floated in the air and I froze in shock.

'_Honey, I told you. You're not going to participate. It's a very brutal game for a young lady like you.'_

A beautiful woman stepped in the room. She had long red hair, amethyst eyes, a black dress with a pink sash and white ears and tail. A pissed off expression decorated her young features and I could metaphorically sense my stomach drop when another figure entered after her. The little girl had long pink hair and big cherry eyes making her pale complexion stand out along with the fluffy white ears atop her head. The white silky dress trailed after her, the black sash loosely holding it from falling off her slim body.

'_But mom, Raya is gonna be there. And she will never let me forget this if I won't come. She is always like 'oh I'm a lot more beautiful than you will ever be' or 'I'm a lot more good at flirting than you, did you even know Karun is going out with me' or ' hey Karyne bet I could beat the crap out of ya'. Please, I must go. I can't simply stand and hear her comments again. Come on mom, I have to go, please.' _

The woman sat down pouring herself a cup of tea, the frown still present on her face. _'Karyne this is not for you. I just don't want you to have such a future.'_

'_But I won't do anything. I will just watch, in the name of Hades.'_ The girl pleaded exasperated.

'_Karyne, please go in your room and stay there till I tell you that you are allowed to get out.'_ She said with finality.

The girl growled and stormed out, the curtains falling on the floor after she pulled at them angrily. My eyes blurred as the scenes played faster and faster. Me, in my bed cursing mother, me, crying over my Grandfather's picture, the great Dragon Slayer, me, sneaking out of the house, me, sealing my own fate.

Cheers and yells, suddenly bombarded my ears and I blinked confused. The large arena was spilling out with spectators. I shook my head trying to block the sounds along with the memory that wanted to unfold. From a distance I could hear the arrogant voice of _that_ man, but my mind struggled to ignore it.

'_Welcome…Welcome…You…for your life…my lover…one rule. Fight until…one…the best…warriors…Fight!_ '

I panted wishing for everything to stop. The agonizing yells, flesh being torn apart, the crimson life liquid slipping on the ground, it was all too much to live again.

'_Hey, let's have some fun guys.'_

'_Raya, what do you mean?_

'_Karun, baby. Let's go down there and fight. I want to feel the blood on my hands. Karyne, you can stay here and take care of our things.'_

'_Like what? You're brain?'_

The echoic voices muffled in my ears. I scrunched my eyes shut as more screams ripped through the air. The tears returned, streaming down my face like waterfalls. My shaking knees couldn't keep me upright anymore and I dropped like a rock, slowly swaying back and forth as sob after sob racked my body.

"Stop! Please!"

The darkness enclosed around me once again and I welcomed it gladly. I only wanted to forget, be ignorant. I left that life behind so many years ago, I believed everything was over. I screamed again in frustration. Everything should be in the past…

And the past should be buried…Forever.

**-(-)-**

I woke up with a start. Hot tears were rolling down my cheeks. I took a few breaths as the idea of all being just a dream sunk in my mind. A nightmare, I silently corrected myself. I went outside on the balcony and took some fresh air to calm down my speeding heart. The cold wind was gently blowing on my face drying the tears. The full moon was hanging on the sky giving the forest a magic light. I wiped off the sweat and looked at the sky. '_Just a dream…just a stupid bad dream.'_

I went to the kitchen and poured myself some water. I stood there several minutes digesting what has happened in my unconscious state. A strand of hair fell on my face and as fast as a bullet I tilted my head right in time for an arrow to pass an inch away of my face. Earlier thoughts casted aside, I glared outside the window.

I heard someone running through the bushes, and I jumped through the open window. I followed the guy in the forest leaping on the tree branches. The wind was stronger than I thought but it didn't bother me. When I got in a clearing the guy stopped and turned to me. He was small, had a rock mask, a bow and arrows. My mind drifted to the maya warriors_._

Right away some friends of him came in too. They were five. I could handle them, I thought confidently. On the left side behind me was a maya woman with a spear, on the left side in front of me there was a cave man with a giant bat, on the right was a knight with one of those medieval spears and another one behind me was a Chinese warrior; he was wearing a black and red armor with a mask and a katana.

The small one started shooting arrow after arrow. I jumped in the air, regained my balance then attacked the maya woman with a jump spin hook kick. Then the knight came running to me with his spear. I just bounced on the spear in the air, wheeled my body and delivered a kick in his head.

'_Darn it. That armor is hard.'_ I flipped on my hands and back on my feet putting some distance between me and the attackers.

The cave man pitched into the fight shaking his bat with the Chinese warrior behind him. I did a butterfly kick on him then I dodged the swings of the katana. I jumped on the ancient warrior's chest and punched him in the face, broking his mask. I flipped on my back and hit his jaw with my legs. I turned to the cave man and did an axe kick on his head. When he was about to fall I put my leg on his shoulder and hopped to face the other three.

There was silence for a few moments then all of them started to run and attack me. I rolled on my left to avoid the arrows. I did a sweep kick on the woman's legs, and then I clutched her throat with my hand and kick her in the stomach. I jumped in the air and did a flying kick on the knight. He extended his arm and caught my leg then he cracked me on the ground. He was about to jab the spear in me but I rolled on my right and gave him a kick in the ribs making the knight fell to the ground.

From the corner of my eye I saw the little guy coming with a flying kick. I stood up and run through the forest. Only me and him were left. I kept avoiding his hits until I really got annoyed. I turned to the archer and put my hands in front of me. I centered my chi in my hands and it formed a black sphere of energy. The guy shoot some arrows at me at the same time I released my attack.

"Energy Wave!" The beam of energy flew to him, destroying the arrows and hitting him in the chest.

When I saw he wasn't moving anymore I finally took a long breath. I should have thanks them. This really helped me vent my frustration_._ Suddenly I heard someone clapping. I looked around the glade and saw a figure smiling in the shadows. I didn't know why but that smile and those yellow eyes sent chills down my back. I couldn't help it and shivered. I wasn't afraid, heck no, I just never met such a cold guy.

"Who are you?"

"Someone you impressed. You are as talented as I've heard." He replied in a casual voice.

"You send those guys after me? Are you looking for a fight or what?"

"It was only a merely warm up. The fight starts now."

In a second he disappeared and I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. A hand grabbed my throat and threw me in a tree. He jumped in the air and aimed his fist at my face. I didn't have time to dodged, he was so fast, so I did a roundhouse kick and his punch clashed with my foot.

He jumped back and I took this opportunity and ran at him doing a flying back kick. He caught my leg and threw his fist at me. I caught his fist with my hand and then we both flipped on the back, leaving a distance of several meters between us.

I bent my knees and prepared for the next attack. He just stood there. '_So, he wants me to attack, eh? Well, I shouldn't make him wait.'_

I ran to him and threw my claws at his face. He bent to the ground and hit me in my ribs.

"Repulse the Monkey." I was taken aback by this. '_Darn it. I can believe I fell for it. What technique is this?'_

I went flying backwards and when I hit the ground I heard a few cracks. I hardly stood up, but he didn't stop here. He came to me with a storm of punches. I was able to block most of them, but I was still hit. He finished with a knee in my stomach and a punch in my jaw.

'_No, no…I will _not_ be defeated.'_

My pupils shrank and I hit him with a roundhouse kick. He was surprised by my come back. I continued to throw punches and kicks at him but he was blocking all of them. I was really pissed off, and nobody messed with me when I was like this. I used my signature attack, the Cat Claws Slash, and I buried my claws through his armor and in his chest. He backed away smiling, blood still pouring from his chest.

He raised his hand as a sign of peace and told me. "You won."

Barely breathing, I took my stance again, not believing him. He then continued. "I just want to talk to you, and if you are asking I challenge you to see if you are powerful enough for the mission I want to give you."

I straightened myself and asked him. "What do I get?" Hee grinned mischievously and answered me.

"Everything you want. My name is Chase Young." He came closer to me and extended his arm so I can shake it.

"Karyne." I said not taking my eyes from him.

'_Chase Young…I heard that name before. Ha…the xiaolin dragon that became immortal, yeah that's it…just because I heard that he keeps his word doesn't mean I will trust him. Never let your guard down. This is an eternal rule when in alliances.'_


	2. A New Enemy

**Second chapter…where everything begins. Hehe!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**A new enemy**

After they returned to the temple, discovered their new powers and defeated the Demon Lord, our young warriors began a new level in their training. Now the four warriors were resting under their favorite tree in the garden and were spiritually preparing for the next training session, meaning they were taking advantages of time as much as they could.

Omi, the little bald dragon of water, was sitting in a lotus position on the grass, near Clay who was leaning against the tree, with his hands under his head and his usual hat on his eyes. In the tree, on a lower branch, Raimundo was sitting outstretched, with his hands behind his head and one leg hanging over. On his chest, there was a petite Japanese girl, Kimiko, who was resting with her boyfriend after a tiring end of the world and after they finally admitted their feelings for each other.

When everything was well and good, Dojo, the temple's dragon and Raimundo's dragon guardian, got in the garden holding a scroll above his head.

"Alright people, gather around!"

Omi was the first one to greet him. "Dojo, what's down?"

"Um…up!"

"What is up?" he asked looking at the sky. The dragon shook his head as the others came closer waiting for him to reveal the new wu. The green dragon opened the scroll showing a man near a clock and holding a bracelet.

"Oh yes! It's the Crystal Wristlet! Whoever possesses it, have the ability to stop time for a while." Exactly as Dojo told them, when the little man activated the wu, the clock near him stopped.

"How much time we're talking about, Dojo?" asked Raimundo.

"Well…I don't know for sure, but I think it was an hour...," answered Dojo holding his chin with a finger "…more or less."

"This would give that Spicer vermin time to steal our wu."

"That's right cowboy. Let's go!"

Raimundo, Kimiko and Clay ran to their cubicles to change their clothes as Omi and Dojo were waiting outside. When they came back, they jumped on a supersized Dojo and took off in the skies.

Clay was wearing a white t-shirt with a brown vest, blue jeans and his brown cowboy boots. Raimundo had a black t-shirt, a white anorak, dark blue jeans and white sneakers and Kimiko a black tank top, long fingerless blue gloves, black jeans, a yellow scarf around her waist and knee high blue boots. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and it was dyed blonde with the tips blue.

**-(-)-**

Dojo landed in the veldt near Kilimanjaro, Africa. A river was flowing nearby and once in a while you could see a giraffe walking around or a lioness running after it's pray. Dojo leaded the gang through the forest to the bank of the river. When they've got there, Dojo jumped on a rock and made himself comfortable. "Announce me when you find it."

Kimiko got closer to the river bank and looked at the bottom where hundreds of colorful stones were ready to be searched. "Dojo, are you sure it is here?"

"Yep! My senses never fooled me."

"It's gonna take us a while." She mumbled under her breath.

The four of them jumped in the water and after a few minutes, they were soppy by the water. Suddenly Omi's dots started glowing.

"I feel something approaching very fast." They took a battle stance waiting for something to happen. But they didn't expected robots to fell from the sky, followed by their master.

"Jack Spicer, Evil Genius Boy is here to kick some asses! Muahahahahahaha…!"

Omi sweat dropped and said confused to the others. "I didn't expect that coming."

"But if ya came all the way over here, we would be more than happy to give you a present…" said Clay cracking his fingers. "…in Xiaolin style!"

Clay, Kimiko and Omi jumped toward the jack-bots, attacking and destroying Jack's magnificent creations. Raimundo stayed behind and turned to Dojo with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Dojo, you could be useful you know?"

"Wha'? I mean of course." The little green dragon paused for a minute and then asked him. "You lost me. What do I have to do?"

Raimundo sighed. "Continue to look for the wu of course if you don't mind fighting Jack!"

"Right away boss!" answered the green dragon lazily.

When Raimundo joined the others, Kimiko was throwing fireballs around, melting the robots' circuits and wires, Omi was using his weird kung fu moves, and Clay was moving the trees' roots to smash the robots.

"Guys, I've found it!" Dojo's yell caught everyone's attention, making them turned to him, frowning. "What? What are you looking at? It is…was right here!" with another glance, Dojo saw the wu gone right from under his nose.

"Now it is here!" a feminine voice spoke. Looking around, everyone saw on a rock a girl with bright pink eyes and hair, twirling the wristlet on her fingers. She wore a black corset, black skinny trousers and knee high black boots with black chains around them. To everyone's surprise she had two white ears on top of her head and a long white tail.

"Wow…who's the chick?" asked Jack seeing the attention wasn't on him anymore.

Omi leaped forward pointing an accusing finger toward her and said. "It's you! You're the one I felt earlier. Introduce yourself stranger!"

The girl raised an eyebrow but obeyed nonetheless. "Name's Karyne. And I'm a cat demon in case you're wondering about the ears and tail."

"Shouldn't demons be under Lady Disha's command?" asked Kimiko, analyzing the newcomer. _She does have style._

"Oh please! Don't even compare with her lowlife creatures!" she said flipping her hair.

"Wait…you said cat demon?" at her nod, Dojo began shaking and babbling incoherent things to himself.

Karyne narrowed her eyes. "Do you have a problem, lizard?"

"Well…" he jumped on Rai's shoulder and after making sure he was completely safe he answered. "Your race annihilated _my _entire race…almost!"

Karyne sighed. "Look, green boy! I was a child at that time; I can barely remember a thing! But frankly, I don't care what you think. I only came here to see my preys face to…faces!" she grinned dangling the wristlet with her finger.

"Preys?" Asked Raimundo confused. "Are you some kinda hunter or something?"

The feline only shrugged and suddenly flipped off the rock when a robot smashed into it. Every eye turned to Jack. "I um…do you want to be my partner?" he blurted with a pleading face. The girl cocked a slender eyebrow at him and shooed him with her hand.

"Get out of here! You're staying in my way!" she said rolling her eyes. "So, who wants to challenge me for the wu?"

Omi immediately leaped forward and touched the bracelet. "Karyne, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown! The game is Savanna Ride! I wager my Lotus Twister against your…um"

"I'll fight without a wu, pinball head! Let's go already!"

"Xiaolin Showdown!"

The wu glowed a bright flash of light as the reality changed around them, shifting it into the showdown's battlefield. A large area, the same as the one they were in moments ago appeared with Omi and Karyne each riding a giraffe, in the middle of it. "Gong Yi Tanpai!"

The two animals started running through the tall grass, while their riders gave each other death glared. When Karyne outran Omi, the young water dragon took out his wu.

"Lotus twister!" he yelled extending his arm in front of Karyne's giraffe. The pink haired cat saw it and flipped in the air when the animal tripped. In the air, she landed on a stork while Omi's eyes widened until they were like plates. The monk growled and jumped on a gazelle ready to catch on with his opponent.

Looking down, Karyne winked at Omi who fumed and turned his gaze forward, determined to not lose in front of such a cocky demon. Karyne on the other hand was thinking with what she would match the wristlet when she'll get home and at the same time leading the bird out of the directions of a pack of trees.

When she looked up she saw the finish line, and the Crystal Wristlet on a stone in the middle of a lake. She motioned the bird to fly lower until they were close to the surface when a yell draw her attention. Karyne looked back to see a giant wave coming straight at her with Omi riding on top of it.

"Ha…I'll never be defeated by a mere girl!"

_He did NOT say that!_

Pure anger took over her as she slowly turned toward the water tidal and lifted her arm already cracking with power. "Energy Wave!" the black sphere flew straight at the water destroying it in the blink of an eye while Omi plummeted toward the lake.

Flipping her hair, the girl raised her head and jumped off the bird and on the stone taking the wristlet. In a flash, everything was back to normal. Karyne watched the others cheering their fallen friend before her gaze longed on one of them, making her smile. She quickly shook it off and turned around face to face with none other than… "Jack Spicer!"

"So what do you say? Wanna be partners and pound those xiaolins' butts so we can rule the world together?" he paused before his face was ruthful grabbed and he was thrown in a tree. "Oh…okay! Call me!"

Clay watched the interaction with the others and couldn't help but ask why was a demon suddenly interested in shen-gong-wu? Could it be that she wanted to revenge her defeated master?

"She did say Disha wasn't her master!" spoke Kimiko as the four of them were on their way back to the temple. "It could only mean that she's alone or…"

"She's working for someone else!" finished Clay rubbing his chin.

"Either way we should be careful with her! She seems dangerous!" Rai concluded crossing his arms. "Hey Omi! How are you holding?"

The monk turned his head. "Oh I'm fine, seeing I've just lost to a…to a demon, yeah!" he laughed nervously after Kimiko's fist fired up and threatened to crack his head. Raimundo and Clay rolled their eyes at the usual routine between the two and jumped down when Dojo landed on the training grounds.

"Ok kiddos, remember you have the evening session!" The small dragon chuckled hearing the groans and moans and the protests coming from the four warriors and slithered back to his comfy bed.

* * *

**I don't like this chapter at all! It's short AND it sucks! Maybe I'll do it again when I'll be in the mood. Kisses!**

**angel-devil**


	3. Under the Night Sky

**Under the Night Sky**

* * *

The moon reigned on the dark clear sky with her thousands shining servants at her side as the cold wind blew the forest's scent toward the lone house. The trees' leaves rustled in the breeze accompanied by the serene songs of the nocturne beings, in an orchestra of nature.

The view could only be described as beautiful and peaceful but that was not how Karyne was feeling that night. Staying on the rooftop and hugging her legs close to her chest, the young feline evaluated the events that happened that day.

No, she hadn't any regrets for beating up the xiaolin dragons. It felt actually good to force some senses in that little midget's big head. She would never accept somebody calling her weak from the simple fact she was a girl. Her hands curled into fists as his words kept running in her head, and she closed her cherry colored eyes trying to even her heart beat and lessen her anger.

No! That wasn't the reason Karyne didn't had peace to sleep. The reason was that she wasn't sure anymore if she did the right thing by accepting Chase's offer. In all her thieving years she didn't bother thinking about her employer, they were only frail humans after all. But Chase…he was a demon and a powerful one, and that was a completely different story.

It wasn't that she was scared of him…well, maybe a little. The guy did give her the creeps. And she didn't doubt she would get her payment. What she was concerned about were his motives for wanting the dragons dead. For the first time, the feline assassin feared to complete her mission because of the weird feeling telling her things won't turn out well, neither for her nor the world.

Her hands gripped her legs tighter and closer to her chest as her eyes rose to the sky and a sight escaped her pale lips.

"Concerned?"

Karyne swallowed as the same calm and deep voice reached her sensitive ears. She right away assumed a blank expression and replied in the same casual way. "For what should I be concerned?"

"You do not trust me I see!"

"Of course I don't trust you. It's strictly professional to not trust anyone." Even thought she couldn't see him, Karyne was sure a smirk crossed his lips in that moment.

"I see! So how did the meeting with your future victims go?" he asked like they were discussing the weather.

"They're only a bunch of annoying kids!" her tone was flat as if she had said it thousands of times by now. Chase remained silent waiting for her to continue. "I don't see why you don't kill them yourself?...Are you afraid of them?" she asked, the amusement obvious in her voice.

"No…I wanted to try another tactic."

"By sending someone else to do your job!" she finished thoughtfully. "I don't mind, honestly!" the shrug of her shoulders proved it.

"I'm glad! You can go and finish your task tonight. I'll let one of my cats here so you can tell it how everything went." Karyne nodded absently as Chase disappeared behind her.

_I wonder how I should wear my hair tonight! _she thought as she got up.

**-(-)-**

The temple was engulfed in silence. Everyone was sleeping except for the blond boy sitting on the edge of the fountain drinking from a glass with water. The large white undershirt covered his brawny body as he played with the now empty glass in his hands.

He unconsciously sit cross legged, leaning his back on the stone edge of the fountain while his thoughts drifted back to the cat girl they've just met. It was odd but he wanted to see her again and try to actually talk to her. She didn't seemed to be that bad in his opinion. Well, yes she beat Omi but even Kimiko would have done that when he brought up the 'girls are weaker than boys' speech.

Everything was quiet around him, and the cowboy failed to notice the outline of a raised sword hold by a figure, ready to pierce his neck, on the ground, in front of him. Karyne couldn't believe it was that easy. She soundlessly snuck up behind the boy sitting straight on the edge, her katana raised above her head prepared to drop it in the next second.

A smirk crossed on her features and her eyes narrowed dangerously on her prey when -

The howl echoed through the night's peaceful air, cutting the silence and startling the girl who yelped in surprise and resulting in her falling in the water with a splash. Clay covered his stomach and turned around only to end up face to face with the person he has just been thinking of. A moment of awkwardness pass between the two as neither one knew what to say.

"Hey!" greeted Clay hesitantly waving at her.

"Um…hey!" he then got up extending a hand for her. Karyne elegantly raised an eyebrow but accepted the help nonetheless.

"Um, I should get something for ya to dry up…if ya want!"

Clay watched her closely as she nodded trying at the same time to get the water out of her long hair, which she had tied up with a ribbon. The cowboy leaded her to the bathroom from where he quickly took a towel and handed it to Karyne. She mumbled a thank you and they both went back outside.

"So um…name's Clay!"

"Huh?...oh, Karyne!" As she was calmly drying herself, her mind screamed at her for her stupidity, and reminded her that Clay was the enemy. However, she didn't felt like listening, and just ignored her rational part of her mind.

"Are yeh listenin'?" her attention snapped back to Clay who was waving a hand in front of her face. "Ah was sayin' what were ya doin' here?"

"Oh...um…well, you see…I was…um…" she continued to stutter until Clay decided to ask her.

"Yeh weren't tryin' to steal our wu, were ya?"

"What? No, no…I was just…um, passing by?" the blond watched her, his penetrating blue eyes gazing in hers before he got up and walked to the fountain. He shoved his arm in the water and took out an unsheathed katana.

"Did Jack hired you to kill us?" he asked handing her the sword. He didn't even knew why he did it. She could have just sliced him with no hesitation, but to his surprise, she didn't. Instead, the girl put the katana back to its sheath.

"Do you really think that guy had the brain to do it?"

"If ah think again, no he doesn'!" and there was silence again for a few minutes, in which both decided the ground was too fascinating to not be observed. "Why aren' we fightin'?"

She lifted her gaze to his eyes. "Do you want to fight?"

"No!" he said sheepishly.

Karyne chuckled. "Me neither."

"Come on!" the feline looked surprised as Clay gently grabbed her wrist and started walking. "I know a place where we can freely talk."

"I'm not sure about this!" the girl whispered.

Clay suddenly stopped and Karyne would have bumped into him if it wasn't for her fast reflexes. "You've just been discovered and I'm takin' yeh to an interrogatory!" he said, his blue eyes almost shining with excitement. "How does that sound?"

Karyne would have jumped in joy if it wasn't the fact that she was still stunned by how fast everything was going around her. She nodded slowly, as a small smile broke on her lips and a blush threatened to cover her cheeks. "Sounds good!"

Clay leaded her outside the temple and into a glade near the river. They both sit down on the grass watching the stars through the opening between the trees. The earth dragon still couldn't comprehend how he just took his enemy to his favorite place, somewhere where he couldn't get any help in case she attacked him. He just didn't know how he could trust her like that right after they've met.

"This doesn't look like an interrogatory!" she spoke, her voice barely audible.

Clay smiled at her. "If yeh are so impatient, then let's begin with the classic question - "

"**Who hired you?**" they asked at the same time before starting laughing.

When she stopped, she answered. "A man named…" Karyne hesitated, biting her lower lip nervously.

"Who is it?"

She looked him in the eyes before returning her gaze back on the sky and letting out a frustrated sigh. "Fine! It's Chase Young!"

Clay turned his head to the sky as well. "Is this the first time you've met Chase?"

Karyne nodded. "Yeah…but I had a really weird feeling that told me I was doing something wrong."

"Chase is a darn evil rat! Not to mention he's smart! He must know by now that you didn' do yer job! He won't let ya off just like that!" he was worried about her, he admitted. Chase was very tough and no matter how good she was, he could still beat her. However, he could be wrong; after all, he only saw her fighting once.

A weird thought occurred in his mind, but before he could think twice his mouth already blurted out the question. Karyne stared at him confused. "Why would you want to know my age?"

She didn't seemed mad, just confused he wanted to know such a minor detail. "Well if you want then, I'm one hundred and twelve."

If it wasn't for the fact that he was sitting on his back, his mouth would have touched the ground by now. "One hundred…?"

"Hey, I'm a demon!" she shrugged carelessly.

"Oh yeah!"

"Next question please."

"Hmm…Do you have a family?"

Karyne's eyes clouded for a second but returned to normal shortly after. "That is personal!" the boy nodded even thought she still seemed to ponder the idea of telling him or not.

But after all, if she didn't want to tell anybody then who was he to oblige her to tell him. Clay surely wasn't that kind of person. He respected her personal space and because of that, he decided to not push the matter any further.

"My family was murdered!" she begun softly. Clay ohed and the feline continued. "I was little and stupid back then. I…I had a fight with my mom for something, and I ran away to do it against what she told me to do and…when I came back, everyone was dead." She repressed the tears that threatened to come out and went on. "I don't know what happened or who did it, but I want to find that monster and have my revenge for ever touching my family."

The wind blew past them ruffling through the teens' hair while they looked at each other. "I'm sorry!" said the earth dragon taking her delicate hand in his own and squeezing it in a sign of affection.

"Y'know, I've never in my life felt so…vulnerable. Guess I was too busy with my missions and all to stay and actually relax like this. And I had fun talking to you too! I feel better now."

He smiled at her. "No problem! How do you usually have fun?" clay inquired, quite curious of how a demon could spent its time.

"Killing, I suppose!"

"How is that fun?" yelled an outrageous Clay, making the girl near him burst into laughter. After she calmed down, he turned his head toward her smiling mischievously. "Would you have fun killing me?"

Karyne looked away and answered in a mutter. "I don't think so!"

They both remained quiet watching the stars and listening to whatever animals were around them doing their ordinary night routine. "Thanks for the night Clay!"

"Glad you enjoyed it! Are you leaving?" he asked seeing as Karyne was getting up. He jumped to his feet as well and for the first time in that night, he realized she was just as tall as he was.

"Um…I guess, I'll see you around Clay!"

"Wait!" She turned back to him her now dry hair flowing beautifully around her slim body. "Be careful with Chase! Okay?"

Karyne smiled sweetly and closed the distance between them until their faces were only inches apart. He sniffed her intoxicating scent, feeling his head going dizzy as he watched her sparkling eyes. "I'll be careful! I promise!" her breath tickled his skin and her words barely made any sense to him as he leaned forward until their lips brushed by each other. He didn't know how it happened but in the next second, his lips were pressed against hers, their tongues slowly dancing in a passionate kiss like never other.

His hands snaked their way to her slender waist and up her back as she gripped his undershirt with her claws pulling him closer. It continued until both of them were out of breath when they pulled apart gazing into each other's eyes.

"Thanks again!" with that she ran out of the glade but stopped right before entering the forest. "And by the way…nice shorts!"

It took Clay five minutes to understand what she just said and when he did, he looked down at his shorts with cows and cowboy hats. He smiled before looking up and touching his lips. _She's a lot more bette' kisser than old cow Bessy!_

He continued to grin like an idiot all the way back to the temple, and almost started whistling in his cubicle if it wasn't a tempered dragon of fire that would most likely burn all his hats for waking her up at such an hour.

He sighed and plopped on his mat, not even caring about the pain that passed through his back. _I've never thought it exists love at first sight!_

* * *

**Well…here's chapter 3! What do you think of Clay and Karyne's meeting? Did I hurry up to much with the romance? I'm not so sure about it, but I'm really proud of myself for writing this chapter in only one day. Yay for me! ^_^**

**angel-devil**


	4. Fight to Survive

**If my calculations are correct, this story will have 10/11 chapters. I honestly thought at this story right before The Power Within and I think I've prepared a lot more for it. By that I mean that I have a plan and the ideas (if you can believe it) are still fresh in my head…I wonder how is that possible. **

**I'm usually known for forgetting things quite quickly. For example if someone asks me the name of one of my teachers, I wouldn't know…in fact I don't remember their names at all right now.**

**o.o**

**Back to the point…I've actually prepared for this story and hope I'll finish it sooner than my last one. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Fight to Survive**

Karyne hopped on the rooftop of her house still grinning from ear to ear before gracefully jumping on the small balcony. She sighed dreamily, leaning on the edge and remembered the time spent with Clay. She never felt so light, like she didn't have anything to worry about…but unfortunately she did.

The smile easily faded as her ears caught the almost soundless steps of the black panther that Chase left for her to report to. Keeping in mind that her employer already knew what she had done, Karyne remained on the spot waiting to see if the servant will truly attack her.

To her surprise, the cat turned and walked away. She let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding, and entered the dark chamber. It was empty except from the man sitting on the chair drinking what seemed to be a soup.

"Glad you could personally come." spoke sarcastically the feline crossing her arms.

"The pleasure is all mines!" he replied taking another sip from the bowl. "I prefer to take care myself of those kind of…problems!"

Karyne raised an eyebrow at him. "Problems? Aren't the Xiaolin Dragons _problems_ to you too?"

"Karyne, I was hoping you would come with me and lead my army after I disposed of those pests." She snorted and turned her head. "But I honestly didn't expect such a thing." Snapping his fingers a raven entered the room, showing her the time spent with Clay in the glade like it had been filming all that time.

Karyne gritted her teeth, and mentally slapped herself for being so careless. "So? You've just got my resignation."

"You're resignation? The only resignation I accept is the one coming with death." Chase put the empty bowl on the table and stood up, his figure looking more threatening and deadly than ever. "Is time for you to chose on who's side you're on!"

The feline unnoticeable stepped back on the balcony maintaining eye contact and answered her voice full of malice. "If I have to chose, I wouldn't be on yours." In that second, she flipped over the edge just as two panthers leaped at her from the shadows of the room.

With the help of the thick branches and her born cat genes, Karyne easily jumped on the ground, swiftly followed by Chase's jungle cats. Before they touched the ground, both of them took their original forms; a large man dressed in a wolf garment and a ninja holding two kunai.

"Seriously, this is the second time you attack me at my house!" she yelled taking a stance.

The first one to come was the wolf man. Despite his big size he was quite fast, shoving his fist with the metal gauntlet in the earth beneath her. The young cat demon jumped backwards, dodging the fist but was forced to hand spring forward because of the blades tossed toward her from behind. Karyne gasped as the shadow of the wolf man towered above her and rolled out of the way of the hit that cracked the ground. Unfortunate for the feline, that only let her open to the ninja's kunai.

Two of them slashed through the flesh on her right arm leaving two deep gashes as the blood trickled freely on the ground. Grabbing her arm in pain, Karyne ran toward wolf Hulk and jumped over him, spinning in the air above him and delivering a kick in the back of his neck.

It didn't knocked him out but it was enough to escape for a while, even thought she still had the ninja to worry about. She jumped in the trees and stopped when she thought it was far enough. With her left hand she untied the black ribbon holding her hair and started binding it up around her arm. With every move, she bit her lip until it bled as waves of pains continued to hit her non-stop. When she was done, she sighed in relief and got up, the slightly movements of the leaves making her ears twitch in every direction. Narrowing her pink eyes, Karyne scanned her environment waiting for the enemy to mistake and attack the first one.

Just as she expected three kunai came swishing, almost cutting the air, which she easily blocked with her katana that she drew out using her left hand. Not waiting a second, the cat demon leaped toward her enemy's location and sliced through the branches forcing the ninja to soar higher. She followed him, both stopping when the boughs begun to wear thin and tossed her katana at him with a battle cry. The ninja blocked it with a kunai, preparing to throw another one with his left arm.

Karyne dropped to the ground, the sharp blade passing through her hair, and swiftly hurled her right fist into his gut, knocking the air out of him. The cat demon wasted no time in finishing off her opponent and shoved the blade of her katana in his throat. The ninja fell motionless at her feet as she sheathed her sword and climbed down to look for the wolf man.

As expected, the big buffoon was searching the woods and by search, it meant throwing the trees around and howling. Karyne hid in a tree watching him and formulating a plan to take him down involuntarily clutching her injured arm. Her frown deepened, and her eyes narrowed when the man turned to her direction, thrusting his fists into the trees and making them fall in one hit.

As he got nearer her, the feline arranged her thoughts and leaped in the air as the trees fell from beneath her feet under the man's punch pressure. As Karyne softly touched the ground, she threw her claws at the wolf man's back making him roar in pain. Swiftly, she swept him off his feet and on his knees as she drew out her katana and tossed it in the wolf man's neck.

Karyne let out a shaky breath and turned her head toward the house. "I must be going insane!"

"I'm indeed starting to believe that!" chase said leaning on a tree that was miraculously saved from the wrath of his servant.

"So…I'm guessing we won't just stay around and drink some tea while we're talking this out, right?"

"Absolutely not! We had a deal…I always respect my promises but I didn't expect you to cheat on me!"

"Never trust anyone!" the girl stated with a shrug.

"True!" he paused with a sigh focusing his glowing yellow eyes on her. "Do you trust the monks?"

The question took Karyne aback and her eyes inwardly moved to the ground as her fists clenched and unclenched nervously. She did ask herself the same question. Did she trust some people she barely knew? Well…she somehow felt like she could rely on Clay but for how long? How long will he stay there for her? How could she be sure he won't change?...Like all humans!

That time…in the forest, it seemed to be so long ago…and the kiss…That was a mistake…maybe she felt so alone that she couldn't take it anymore, and jumped at the first sign of affection. She rushed like a stupid amateur in something she wasn't meant to be in, in the first place, instead off finishing her true job.

"So?...Do you?"

"I..I don't know!" the feline clenched her fists until her sharp nails dug in her skin, and the blood leaked on her hands, falling on the ground drop by drop. "But I know that what you're doing is wrong and I don't want to be a part of it!"

"Well that's too bad…You have potential!" Chase straightened up, dusting his gloves and sighed. "Too bad I have to get rid of you!"

Karyne took a step back, frowning. With a snap, several other jungle cats showed up around their master, lowly growling at their prey. Cursing under her breath, Karyne took off in the woods just as Chase gave them the signal to attack. She desperately tried to remember in which way she was going, but her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of flowing water.

"Shit! This is what I needed!" she growled stopping in her tracks on the bank of the river. The cat girl hadn't realized she went so far away in the forest, but now clearly wasn't the right moment for feeling distress.

Karyne watched as the jungle cats circled around her almost licking their lips before pouncing as she kicked and punched each one that got in her way. After five minutes, she resumed her stance, gasping for air as Chase walked calmly out of the forest.

"Are you gonna fight yourself or send your little kitties?"

As an answer, Chase crouched in a fighting pose and smirked at her. Without a warning, he leaped forward, throwing well aimed punches that she felt unable to block due to her fatigue and wounds.

Karyne barely rolled out of the way of kick that would have took her head off her shoulders in a second, and decided to go on the offensive. They both wavered from defensive to offensive, ducking and striking in a deadly dance lighted by the moonlight and reflected in the mirror of the pure water.

The pink haired girl sidestepped a kick, throwing a perfectly done roundhouse kick of her own at Chase. The man smiled, the shadows on his face making him look ten times more frightening, and easily caught her ankle in midair while swiftly letting his leg glide, tripping the girl. Chase effortlessly threw her to the ground, knocking the air out of her and grabbed her by the neck.

He winced as Karyne desperately dug her claws through his gloves, but he didn't budge his hand. His smirk widened at the sight of the helpless girl suffocating in front of him before a slight drip of regret forced itself in his conscious. He was disappointed for losing such a promising ally, but after all, you can't have them all!

The pressure of her claws slowly welked and her hands fell limply on her sides. Chase sighed and threw her in the river with no other word. He stayed for a while and watched as her body sunk in the dark abyss of the water before he turned around and left.

**-(-)-**

"Man…That was cruel!"

**-(-)-**

_It is cold…_

_And dark…_

_Where am I? I can't see anything! This void seems endless…_

_**:flash:**_

"Hey sis!"

"What do you want midget?" the ten years old boy huffed at the nickname and stared angrily at the lake, like he wanted it to evaporate under his burning glare.

"Stop calling me that would you?" the girl chuckled carelessly motioning for her brother to come and sit beside her on the black sand.

"Come on Hiei, don't be angry! I'm the older sister, I'm supposed to tease you remember?" The white haired boy laughed dryly as he sat near her cross-legged. "So, what is it?" she asked again.

"Nothing…" his sparkling amethyst eyes gazed forward, to the forest on the other side of the lake."Um…Happy Birthday?"

Karyne smiled sweetly at him and ruffled his hair but not without gaining some protest and some few chosen words that made the girl bump him in his head. Rubbing his soaring spot, Hiei glared at his sister who seemed completely unaffected.

"Y'know…you would be such a sweet boy if you weren't acting like an ass!" she mumbled making the boy fume near her.

Narrowing his eyes, Hiei growled at her. "I am not acting like an ass, you moron!"

"You're right, you are an ass!"

"That's it! You're impossible!" he roared getting up. "I'm telling mom!"

As he left, Karyne screamed after him. "He-lloo! Forgot what day is it?" she began waving her hands around and pointing at herself. "It's my birthday midget!" she continued mumbling to herself as she got up and walked back to the house on the beach.

_**:flash:**_

_Hiei…_

_We've never talked without an argument starting…and the arguments usually ended with a fight…that I usually won, of course! If I think about it, it was fun! We've never got bored when we were together and your ideas were the craziest I've ever heard! _

_It hurt not hearing them lately…_

_Weird huh?_

_**:flash:**_

The white haired man closed the door behind him before he was suddenly knocked down by a mass of pink that grabbed him around his waist. He chuckled lightly and softly patted the girl's head. "How's my little princess doing today?"

The little girl looked up, her big pink eyes full of happiness and a huge smile gracing her face. "I miss you daddy!" Her father smiled back and pulled her in his arms.

Right away, a red haired woman came out of the kitchen, gently stroking her belly. "Welcome back honey!"

Letting go of the girl, the man walked to her wife touching her abdomen. "And how's our new baby going?"

The woman laughed. "He's so full of energy!"

"Mommy, daddy, when will I meet my brother?"

**:flash:**

_He… my life sucks…_

**-(-)-**

The water was cold and refreshing for the boy, the tingling of its touch making his skin roughen and the blood in his veins pulse with adrenaline. He kept a firm gaze on the bottom of the river, his golden eyes never leaving the unconscious silhouette of the girl. The boy kicked the water harder, increasing his speed and diving down until he was next to her.

He extended his hand and grabbed the pink haired girl pulling her toward him. Once he was sure she was safe in his arms, the boy looked up and used the stones to propel himself upwards. He could see the stars shining on the dark blue sky, as he fast approached the surface.

With a splash, his head broke out of the water as the freezing winds of the night mercilessly blew in his face like lashes threatening to tear his skin off. He took deep breath of air filling his lungs while swimming back to the shore, the girl's head resting on his shoulder.

When he reached the bank, the boy put the girl down on the ground and sighed in relief. "Not my type to save a damsel in distress but…everything has a beginning, right?"

The boy tilted her head backwards and lifted her chin to see if she was breathing. Before he could do it thought, the girl started coughing hurling gallons of water out of her lungs and taking deep, greedy breaths of air. Her eyes opened slightly and only had time to see the smirk on the teen's face before closing them right away and succumbing back into unconsciousness.

The yellow eyed boy nodded and put her back on the ground, knowing he didn't have anything else to do to her. He shoved his wet bangs out of his eyes and took off in the forest without looking back at the cat demon he just saved.

"This is definitely not my type!" A sighed escaped his lips as his last words were left blowing in the wind.

* * *

**Sorry for taking so long…I don't know, was it long? Anyway, I had some lack of inspiration at the end but I think I managed to do it after all. I like how this chapter got out! Hope you like it too…Oh…and about the mysterious guy, yeah…well, he won't make an appearance too soon, so have patience! A lot of patience if I may add.**

**angel-devil**


	5. Truths

**So, there you go! The next chapter! * runs out of the way of tomatoes***

* * *

**Truths**

Karyne felt her body heavy and cold despite the sun shining on the sky. Its light could penetrate her eyelids as she tilted her head trying to stop it. She didn't want to get up yet even thought she had no idea where she was or what happened in the last hours. Everything came as a swirling blur in her mind stirring the dizziness and at the same time a migraine that she didn't want to deal with right now. The feline only wanted to lie there until she felt like moving.

"Ahem!"

The girl jerked her head up forgetting about lying down all day and looked around warily. She rested on her elbows still keeping a close eye on her surroundings when the same voice 'ahemed' again.

This time she followed the voice until her pink orbs rested on the bean sitting on her stomach. Her eyes widened, staring at the little thing for a minute. Then for three minutes. Then five. Then -

"Glad ah caught yer attention!"

Karyne gasped and suddenly jumped to her feet sending the creature flying. "You're imagining things! The bean didn't just talked! Everything is in your head!" she kept repeating that as Hannibal watched her confused and amused at the same time from a rock.

"Miss look here! I'm Hannibal Roy Bean!" he finally snapped after seeing the girl wasn't going to pay any attention to him anymore.

Karyne turned to him, slouched her shoulders and sighed in defeat. "Dear Styx! I need a therapist!"

Hannibal only rolled his eyes and continued. "I'm a demon, missy, just like ya!"

The feline looked relieved but quickly composed herself and watched him in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

Bean could already feel a vein popping out of his forehead and the intent to kill the girl starting to grow. "Have you ever seen other talking beans on this planet?"

A gust of wind blew past the two as Karyne crossed her arms, tapping her index finger on her chin. "Ok so you are also a demon. Why are you here? Are you looking for a fight?" her eyes narrowed as her piercing gaze bored in his red eyes.

Hannibal sneered. "Well of course not, mah dear! Ah just wanna enlighten you a bit!" Karyne frowned confused but let him continue. "About some events…from 50 years ago!"

**-(-)-**

The day at the temple started good for everyone mostly for the earth dragon who already made his fellows dragons question his good mood. Only the thought of telling them what had him so happy could make him smile to his ears even thought the rational side of his brain kept saying it was a bad idea.

He honestly had to admit. Karyne _did_ fought them for the wu and she _did_ took it so the others considered her an enemy, a dangerous one too. He couldn't just go and say 'Hey y'know, the lady who we met when we went after the wu is not bad and ah know 'cuz I make out with her!'. It would be an interesting conversation indeed.

So here he was, sitting outside on the stairs leading to their dormitories and thinking hard about what he was supposed to do now. So far his thoughts were of Chase Young and if he already got to her. He didn't doubt her fighting abilities, but it was completely different with Chase.

He sighed tilting his hat lower over his blue eyes when he realized he had no idea how to contact her. The blond doubted she had a phone number and he doubted more that it would have been easy to call her anyway. He barely called home…actually, he had never called home.

"Yo, big guy! Are you ok? Is your good mood over?"

"Nah! I'm fine! Just…thinking!" his eyes lingered silently on Raimundo as he leaned on the door frame, watching the fountain with his arms crossed over his chest. A second later he was looking into two curious emerald orbs. "About what?"

Clay moved his gaze back on the sky, answering innocently. "Callin' home ah guess!"

Raimundo oh-ed with his mouth before walking to sit beside him. "Speaking of home, are you up for a Texan grill?"

The cowboy grinned. "Oh yeah! That's gonna be a feast!"

**-(-)-**

The rest of the day was spent around the new and absolutely improvised pool. Kimiko took full advantage of the burning sun to tan her skin a bit and stood on the sides watching amused as the boys played in the water. Raimundo was teaching Omi how to stay on a board properly and that was a good show to watch while Clay took care that Dojo stayed away from the food.

She sighed turning on her belly. Omi and Rai's voices became a distant buzz to her ears and she ignored them trying to get some shut eye until the food would be ready. Everything was so peaceful that day: a beautiful weather, no training, no shen-gong-wu alerts. They could finally spent a normal day doing normal things like normal – BOOM!

The sudden explosion immediately caught her attention. Her head jerked up following the source of the sound. With an annoyed groan, Kimiko got up seeing in the corner of her eye the boys doing the same. The four of them quickly went into action, running to the temple vault to find the disturbance. Of course, inside the vault were Wuya and Jack with a bag full of their shen-gong-wu.

"I told you not to bring the dude-bot!"

"Yeah! Guess it doesn't cope well with the stress!"

At the sight of the four dragons the witch growled, her hands sparkling with green energy.

"Y'know? You're a really lame team." Spoke Raimundo taking a battle stance.

"We'll see about that! Robots ATTACK!" Robots flew from nowhere towards them. The gang smirked unimpressed and destroyed the robots quickly. Wuya took her time using her dark magic to create some stone warriors from the debris around before fleeing with Jack.

Clay and Raimundo smashed the remaining stone warriors as Kimiko and Omi caught up with the two heylins. Omi kicked a rock straight into Jack's leg making him trip and fall on his face, dropping the bag. Kimiko flipped over the witch and touched the wu at the same time as her.

"Wuya, I challenge you at a Xiaolin Showdown. My Star of Hanabi against your Ruby of Ramses. The game is Hopscotch!"

"Do I look like a two year old?"

Kimiko looked at her smirking. "More like an old hag!"

"Grr! Let's do it! Xiaolin Showdown!"

The light engulfed the area around them transforming the temple grounds in the battle field. Stone platforms ascended in space at different levels being hold in the air by the sheer force of magic. On each one of them was a small circle with a number going from one to eight. Raimundo, Omi, Clay and Dojo stood somewhere beside the nine stages while the girls took their places on the most highest and unmarked one.

"GONG YI TAMPAI!"

As the words escaped her lips, Kimiko ran forward toward the edge followed closely by the heylin witch. She jumped over the rim and called a ball of flames in her hand that she threw straight at the small circle. It made contact sending dust and stones around it and allowed the young Japanese girl to touch the ground.

Wuya did the same, tossing a green ball of energy in the circle and landed gracefully before moving in hot pursuit after Kimiko. The monk on the other hand was quickly closing the distance to the last raised area thing which angry Wuya. A smirk played on her lips as she used the edge of platform four and her shen-gong-wu to jump higher and over to the sixth one that Kimiko was at.

"Ruby of Ramses!" the gem glowed reddish just like the stone which was controlled by it. The rock smashed in the circle and Wuya safely landed right in front of the girl.

"You cheated!"

The witch sighed. "Sometimes I think you miss the concept of _evil_! Ruby of Ramses!" she aimed the wu at Kimiko who only had time to yelp before she was flung backwards on the fifth platform. With a small wave, Wuya got back in the game along with Jack nonstop cheering.

Kimiko hardly stood up rubbing her sore back when she saw the witch getting closer to the finish line. She sighed disappointed and looked down at her clenched fists.

"Kimiko come on! At least try if you can't win like me all the - AUCH!"

"Omi, shut your mouth!"

The raven haired girl glanced at her friends and smiled at the scene. Rai started an argument with the little egomaniac monk while Clay stood on the sides shaking his head. He looked at her and gave an encouraging thumbs up that Kimiko gladly returned.

With no other doubt clouding her mind, Kimiko jumped over the border calling her element. "Wudai Fire Wheel!" she started to spin in the air as the red flames covered her body and launched her forward at neck breaking speed. She passed by Wuya in the air making her lose her balance and fall back on the ground also making her stare with wide eyes at the burning sphere.

Kimiko ended her move when she was above the eighth circle and with a last smirk at the fuming witch, she threw the Star Hanabi down finishing the showdown. The light surrounded them again but this time they came back in the real world.

Kimiko stood proudly in front of the boys holding the bag of wu and ignoring completely Jack and Wuya as they left.

"Sooo…who were you referring to when you said 'don't mess up'?" taunted the red eyed genius boy dusting his sleeves.

Wuya clenched her fist thinking of every painful way she could break his bones. "I was referring to you! Why did you have to bring that stupid robot? Because of that thing it turned out this way!"

"Hey…don't blame it on my Dude-bot! He has feelings too!"

"You mean he had 'cus he's now a piece of junk!"

"Ahem…"

"Well excuse me if I ruin your great plan! Maybe you should go back to be Chase's maid!" Jack stuck out his tongue when his eyes widened as a green ball came at him. Luckily for him it disintegrated before it connected to his face.

"Excuse me…"

"Ha! You can't even use you powers anymore!"

"I warn you Jack, shut up before I - "

"I said HEY!"

Both of them turned around and saw a girl with pink hair and eyes holding her arms across her chest and looking quite pissed off. Jack immediately recognized her and jumped in front of her taking his most confident faces.

"So, you've decided to join me, eh?"

"Who's she?" asked Wuya looking unimpressed at the new face.

Jack turned to her. "Karyne…" pointing at her "is my new – " He couldn't finish his sentence as the feline's fist made contact with his skull sending him rolling in a tree and knocking him out.

Wuya gently raised an eyebrow. "I see!" She then continued in a lighter tone. "Well, I already like her!"

Karyne rolled her eyes and entered the temple without giving Wuya any other glance. She walked until she found the four dragons in front of the vault. She took a deep breath calming her racing heart as her stare remained on a certain blond. Gracefully, she stepped out of the shadows of a tree and was met by –

"Prepare for a most humiliating defeat, demon!"

Ignoring Omi, she looked at Clay and spoke sternly. "I'm leaving!" The air was tensed. The four warriors stood in their crouched stances glaring daggers at her ( except of Clay ) until…

"Huh?" Raimundo, Omi and Kimiko stare at her confused and doubtful unlike the dragon of earth who felt like a whole ice sculpture fell in his stomach.

"What?" he slowly dropped from his crouch despite the alarmed glances the others were giving him and stepped closer to her.

Karyne looked at the dumbstruck faces of the others and quickly put her hand on her hips and watched them defiantly. "And YOU and your annoying little friends shall NEVER find me! MUAHAHAHA!"

That thought didn't fooled Clay and for the matter of fact neither the other three. He looked at her, his face showing how painful her words were and only managed to whisper. "Why? Why are ya leavin'?"

Karyne's shoulders slouched down and her gaze shifted to her feet. "Just personal stuffs. It doesn't concern you!" She didn't mean it that way but there was no other way. Her day started terrible and it seemed like it wanted to continue like that, but seeing Clay angry because of her made her suffering even more unbearable.

"Doesn't concern me? Did cha forget about last night? What happened there?"

She bit her lip trying to suppress the tears forming in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Clay! I shouldn't have!" she turned to leave but Clay locked her wrist in a firm grip. Omi watched the scene totally lost while Kimiko and Raimundo exchanged worried glances from the sides.

"Wait a sec!" in the next second she was kissing him, just as the tears started to stream on her face. Her hand brushed lightly on his cheek and she whispered an 'I love you!' in his ear. Before he could have time to respond she was gone.

He felt the earth running beneath his feet but soon realized they were just trembling. Clay quickly wiped away his tears when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Glancing behind him he saw it belonged to Kimiko. She was smiling sadly at him but he didn't care. He shoved it away and left, going back to his room.

Raimundo watched his friend go somehow sorrowful but still angry because of what just happened. He sighed and rubbed his head in frustration. "I can't believe this!"

"Weird are the ways of love!"

"Please Kimiko! Don't start with those cheesy sayings! I have enough from Master Fung." Yelled the brunet right when the girl turned to glare at him.

"I don't get it!" the two looked down at Omi, remembering he was there too. "What has just happened?"

**-(-)-**

Clay watched the ceiling in his cubicle. His hat was thrown on the chest behind him and he kept his hands under his head. Her words were still fresh in his mind and even thought it hurt like hell to remember them he couldn't let them go. The morning was far away in his head and the night…the night seemed liked it hadn't even existed. It felt like it was only a dream.

Had he been dreaming all this time? But if he had, why would it pain so badly?

"_I'm leaving!"_

Two words…huge consequences! And the major consequence was an eternal goodbye…Or so she wished!

Clay smirked and stood up. He walked to his chest and pulled out a bag that stuffed it with some clothes and some of his candy stack. His smirk vanished thought as he sensed someone watching him. "Hey Rai!"

"What are you doing?" he turned around. Raimundo watched impassively from the entrance as Clay took his hat and put it on his head.

"I'm gonna go after mah girl! And please partner, don't try an' stop meh!" he walked next to him and when Raimundo didn't make any move he left.

Clay almost reached the temple's entrance when an yell made him turn around. Omi ran up to him gasping for air and with big pleading eyes. "Clay my friend, what have I done to make you leave us?"

The bigger boy patted his head. "Don' worry little fellow! I'll come back! I promise!"

Omi watched Clay's retreating form until he was out of sight before going back to his dorm. From a window, Rai and Kimiko also watched him go, both of them remaining in silence after he was gone.

"Why did you let him go?" asked Kimiko after a while.

Rai watched the sunset in thought, taking his time to answer the question. In the end, he smiled, pulling her near him and giving her a quick kiss. "Because I would have done the same for you!" Kimiko hugged him lovingly and they both went to their cubicles holding hands.

**-(-)-**

Karyne leaned on the tree, her red bag staying inertly on the ground near her. She kept her gaze on the disappearing sun humming to herself and old lullaby that her mother used to sing. She decided to leave in the morning as her head was already full of things. Maybe the fresh air of the night would do some good to her troubled mind.

"Nice song! Why don't you sing it?"

Her body jerked up, the katana already in her hand and ready to strike when she saw who it was. "W-Wha – "

Her words stayed in her throat, blocked by the kiss. She closed her eyes, letting the feeling of joy to spread in her body. Her hands embraced him while his owns stroke gently her head and back. She let the a single tear run down her cheek as her thoughts suddenly died in her mind and the moment took over everything around her.

* * *

***peeps over the corner to see the angry crowd gone* **

**Phew! I thought I was done for! Now…I'm so sorry! I don't have excuses! (actually I have but I doubt you'll consider school an excuse) In my loooooooong absence I've seen some NEW stories FINISHED! I'm really ashamed of myself! So sorry again…and hope you don't hate me!**

**Arigato…angel-devil logs out…**


	6. On the Road

**Sorry again for the long wait but I had some troubles with this chapter. Only now I've finally found some good inspiration to finish it. And I should tell something about Clay…um I'm not too good with his weird saying so I kinda chose to not write many so I won't ruin his rep. That would be all for now! **

* * *

**On the road**

"You shouldn't have done it!"

"It was my decision!"

"You left them!"

"It'll pass faster than a bullet racing a snail!"

She laughed. "If you say so!"

Karyne leaned forward for a quick kiss that Clay gladly accepted, and then pulled apart looking into each other's eyes. He gently stroke her cheeks whispering softly 'I love you!'. The girl smiled and replied mutely 'I love you too!' before they both chuckled together.

"So, where are we going anyway?" Clay asked holding his hand around her waist while walking through the city. They were up in a mountain town and the weather was kind of chilly so the two had to wrap themselves up.

Clay had his usual winter attire while Karyne had a long gray coat and a thick matching hat that covered her white cat ears, but not her unusual long pink hair that seemed to attract everyone's attention. If it wasn't for a big guy like Clay, all the boys would have tried flirting with her, 'tried' being the keyword.

"We're gonna take the plane for Athens!" was her simple answer.

"And why is that?" Clay saw the girl averting her gaze to the ground and knew better than to push the matter further. "Ah guess it's gonna be a long flight then."

Karyne smiled slightly leaning on his shoulder. She felt his hands gently pulling her closer to him and she didn't protest as long as they were his arms. "Thanks Clay!"

The blond teen moved his hand from her waist and on her arm, rubbing it caringly. "It's nothing, mah Lady!"

Two hours later, they were on board of the plane and heading for Greece. Clay kept staring on the window thinking hard of the temple, while Karyne was having her nap time. He hoped they understood him and didn't consider him a traitor or something like that. They knew he wouldn't do such a thing, they knew he wouldn't abandon them. But he couldn't abandon Karyne either. He cared for her just as much as he cared for his friends and everyone at the temple.

He was doing it for love.

Clay looked down at the small figure leaning on his chest. He couldn't help but think how innocent and frail she could be while sleeping and that only added more to the deep feelings he had for her. He sighed and turned back to the window watching the clouds passing by at high speed.

**-(-)-**

"Here we are! Hello…Greece!"

Clay laughed. After the plane landed the first thing the feline had to do was go shopping for both of them. He was currently wearing a beige short sleeved shirt and baggy blue jeans with white sneakers. His cowboy hat was of course present and his red scarf as well. Karyne on the other hand had a long red skirt, covering her tail, with blue flip-flops, a matching light blue top and a red bandana on her head hiding her ears.

"Do you wanna visit for a while?" he came behind her and hug her both of them staying like that and watching the view of the city.

"Well…we'll leave to Olympus tonight so yeah sure…guess we have some free time!"

"Do you have a reason for all this journey?"

Karyne sighed and turned to look him at him with a smile. "I promise I'll tell you tonight. But first, let's have some fun!"

**-(-)-**

The day was wonderful! After the plane landed the two relaxed walking through the parks of the city, admiring the old olive trees and letting the fresh atmosphere engulf them in their peace. The soft wind blowing through the blooming branches kindly stroked their skin almost taking away the pain and worries. Karyne happily embraced the scenario around her and they both spent their time there until the sun was almost down.

After that, they went on the Acropolis and continued to stare at the horizon, watching as the dark blue of the night took the place of the sparkling red and orange of the sunset. In the end, the ball of fire was gone and the view above shone with thousands of glittering stars.

"Y'know…you said – "

"I know!" cut the girl sharply staring at the point where the sun has just vanished.

Clay put his head on hers not saying a word and letting her chose her owns. Karyne finally opened her mouth to speak but the nervousness was obvious in her trembling voice. "I'm going home, Clay! You're going to see my home soon!"

The cowboy didn't know how to react. Many times he thought about her home but the idea of actually seeing it wasn't to appealing to him. And it seemed, it wasn't tempting to her either from the river of emotion her words revealed. But he stayed quiet, pulling her small body closer to him and delicately rubbing her hand. Karyne smiled at the silent encouragement and they both remained like that for a while.

Around nine p.m. thought they had to leave so they could catch the train. Another boring trip for Karyne and Clay but they didn't notice it as the day just exhausted them, and they used the time to regain their strengths.

Once they arrived in a town at the base of the mountain, the first thing the duo did was go and eat, afterwards finding a bus or something that could take them higher and closer to their destination.

After many quick trips, they had to leave the main route and go through the forest. Karyne was back in her black outfit, her katana dangling from her belt and her ears on full alert. She was going ahead, Clay closely after her, climbing cliffs, jumping over rivers and creeping trough narrowed caves.

The road was hard but neither of them complained. They were also times when Karyne lost her way and they had to get back to a familiar place from which they could find the right path. They were now resting on the grass, on a crag watching the darkened sky.

"Couldn't we have done it in the morning?" muttered the blond at which Karyne chuckled.

"We would have missed it on the day!"

"Miss what?"

The girl looked at him mysteriously. "The entrance! We can only see it in the darkness of the night!"

Clay raised an eyebrow. "And how long do you still have to walk? I'm more tired than a three-legged horse at a marathon! And I think I I'm startin' to understand how Omi feels when we're talkin' about things he doesn' know."

Karyne laughed, the sound of her voice creeping through the silent air of the night. Clay smiled and then sat up stretching. The girl followed suite fiddling with the sheath of her katana. "So…which way now?"

Karyne swiftly jumped in the trees and on top of the rocks. Clay instead chose to use his xiaolin powers to leap beside her. From there the duo descended in a cave trough a small opening. The pale light washed over them as they crawled through the narrow tunnel in the mountain.

The more they got closer to the source, the more the light dismissed until it only appear as a small glitter. The slippery rocks of the cave hardened their movements but not their determination. They stopped when they reached a death end.

Karyne smirked and with a horsed yell, she threw her leg in the wall from which the glitter was coming crushing it in an instant. In its place an arcade formed, the pillars supporting it from both sides revealing bones and human skulls stuck into each other like a morbid painting.

Clay gulped, but the girl simply brushed her hand on his and winked back at him. She walked through the gate and into a massive tunnel going down. The stairs were cracked and dusted and cobwebs, spiders and other God knows what crawled on the walls as the two warriors descended.

The ripple of water soon reached their ears and the staircase ended on a cliff in a huge underground cave. A river was rushing down and the two couldn't help but peek over the edge. The water was black, with white steam swirling on its surface in a hypnotic rhythm.

"It's the Styx!" spoke the girl in a whisper.

"Are ya sure?"

"Have you seen any river like this before?" Clay shook his head still looking down. "Then be sure it's the Styx!"

They jumped down, beside the bank and stared around at the river as it went through the mountain. Clay sat down leaning on a rock while Karyne patted her foot impatiently, playing with two golden coins in her hand.

"I've never really believed that myths such as these were true!" said Clay watching the feline getting more and more annoyed with each passing second.

"You haven't seen the bottom of the iceberg yet, cowboy!" she answered the edge of her irritation obvious in her voice. "In the name of the Underworld, where is he?" Just as the words left her lips a boat suddenly emerged from the water. Clay sat up and walked beside Karyne looking in awe at the newcomer.

Charon, Hades' ferryman, the escort of the souls to the underworld. A black ragged cloak covered his body, as well as his head leaving a pair of yellow glowing eyes to be seen from its shadows. His withered hands held a long pole pushing the rotten boat to the bank so his passenger could get in.

The ferry was barely kept together raising question in Clay's head about how long could it resist. Karyne thought walked forward shoving the two coins in Charon's waiting hand. She then grabbed his arm and dragged him inside. Charon used the pole to propel them on the river as the lantern hanged creepily from its top spreading moving shadows around them.

The trip was short but it still felt like it lasted forever. When they got down, Charon immediately succumbed back in the water along with his boat and the two could finally inhale some fresh air instead of that death scent.

"I thought I was gonna faint right there!"cried Karyne rubbing away the sweat off her forehead.

"That's what ah call a nasty smell!" Clay added fanning with his hat. "I guess now we're officially in Hell, right?"

Karyne shook her head. "Not quite! There is still another gate to pass. Come on!"

They started walking again through the catacombs of the cave, only this time Karyne seemed to know where she was going. They stopped as a gigantic door loomed over them. There was no door handle but then again who would need one for such a door. The wood was black and was decorated on the sides with a thick golden strip. The top was arched and the hinges were made of unbreakable titanium.

"Your kind really knows how to make a first impression."

The girl chuckled nervously. "Clay, I think we should really back off a little."

"Why is that?"

She sighed. "Stupid question then! Do you think 'our kind' would let anybody come into our world just like that?"

Crickets chirped in the background as they dumbly stared at each other. "No?"

"Exactly! It's always – " a low roar echoed around them as heavy footsteps shook the earth " – a guardian!"

"Oh sweet nibbles!"

From the shadows stepped out an enormous three headed dog growling threatening at the two intruders. It's jet black fur stand up on his massive bodies as his three pairs of golden eyes fixed on its prey. Its deadly claws dug in the ground but it didn't compare with the sight of his three jaws clenching his ferocious fangs. Around its neck was a metal collar with chains hanging down from it, but of course that was a minor detail compared to the rest of the creature.

"Karyne…is this…"

The feline gulped, her feet trembling like jelly. "The Cerberus! Hades' pet!"

The cowboy knitted his brows upwards in shock. "If that's a pet than I'm a steak!" With a roar the dog brought down one of his paws right toward Clay who dodged in time without a scratch. "But then again, I may become one!"

Frowning, Karyne ran up to the creature and leaped in the air gracefully spinning before coming down at his head. "Cat Claws Slash!" Unfortunately, her attack didn't had a good effect on the animal beside annoying it. Seeing the chance, Cerberus shoved his head upwards hitting the girl literally head on and sending her flying on the other side of the cave.

Clay gritted his teeth, clasping his hands in front of him like in a prayer and shouted. "Wudai Crater Earth!" rocks surrounded his arms and with a battle cry he smacked them into the grounds throwing the stones at the dog.

The Cerberus fend them off with his huge paws and Clay used the distraction to toss several thick roots at its head. At first it seemed to work, the sharp roots slashing the animal merciless until its tail came swinging cutting through them easily.

The beast hurled its snake tail at him crashing it into the ground and unbalancing the xiaolin dragon. Clay jumped backwards, sliding on the ground before thrusting his fists forward. "Rock pillars!" Columns shot up from around him heading to the dog and briefly pinning him to the wall, so that in the next second to crush down from its massive force.

The Cerberus jumped over Clay, shaking the cave as he landed behind him. The xiaolin warrior turned around but was thrown backwards by its tail before the beast's giant claws pushed him further in the ground, creating a crater around him. Clay gasped at the impact feeling his head ready to fall off his shoulder and his limbs paralyzed under the dog's leg. All of its three heads growled menacingly as it prepared to take a bite from him but…

"Energy Wave!"

A black beam struck the dog right in its neck as Karyne flipped on its back grabbing the chains and forcing him off of Clay. "Come on, doggy! Be nice you gigantic mutt!"

The dog snarled and growled, hitting himself on the walls to get off the person on its back. Unfortunately for it, all those tries only succeeded in making itself dizzy thus giving Clay enough time to knock the lights out of its three heads.

The Cerberus fell down with a thud, unconscious while Clay rushed to catch Karyne before she collapsed too. She grabbed her spinning head in both her arms, supporting on his shoulder. "That was one true roller-coaster!"

Clay lifted her in his arms, obliging a blush to creep on her cheeks and walked toward the gate. It opened right away like being pulled by an invisible force. As he stepped inside he was amazed by what he saw.

The sky was a light shade of red with a full silver moon on top of it. In the middle of the 'city' were houses resembling a luxury resort and delimitated by two huge lakes on both sides. Before them thought was an arena like the Coliseum and other places where the inhabitants seemed to spend their free time. But what truly stunned the dragon of earth was the impressive black palace carved in the far wall of the place/cave/realm or whatever. It spread along that wall and it looked like it was heavily guarded. Clay could only supposed that was where Hades was living.

"Like it?"

He snapped out of it remembering about the girl he was carrying in his arms. "Right!" He put Karyne down, letting her stretch as his gaze shifted back to…Hell. "It's clearly different than I expected!"

The girl laughed. "What? Were you waiting to see rivers of lava, skeletons and ghosts, torturing machines or screaming people begging for mercy?"

Clay nodded staring dumbly at her. The feline shrugged. "Well we have those too! We just try to keep a paradisiacal image. You know…for tourists!"

"Um…ok?"

She started walking and Clay followed, going through the narrow streets full of odd looking creatures. As they went on, the blond felt everyone's eyes on them as well as the whispers that their passing brought up. He stepped next to Karyne silently whispering in her ear. "I don't think I feel welcome here!"

"Well, you shouldn't!" she answered her pink eyes still on the road. "Humans are not welcome here…living humans I mean." She glanced at him smiling. "But you don't have to worry! You are stronger than most of these guys!"

He smiled back at her, already feeling better and continued to follow the girl as she bent trough the crowd. They finally stopped on top of a hill to rest their sore legs for a while and Karyne al last told Clay the reason for her comeback. At the end of it Clay was deep in thought, holding his elbows on his knees and his chin supported on them.

"Are you sure you want to do it?" Karyne held her eyes down but nodded slightly.

"Look Clay…I am sorry that you had to come all the way here. I know you are angry…I was just…scared of telling you!"

He gripped her hand tightly into his making the girl look up at his hard face. His features softened thought as he spoke to her. "I'll respect every decision you make! If you are sure this is what you want, I'll stay beside you no matter what!"

She leaned forward for a kiss as he embraced her firmly. "Didn't you wanted to show me your house?"

The girl beamed and quickly dragged him through the alleys until they reached a more private area around the lake. The hill was quit wooded and it was silence around as well as an incredible view of the lake. Karyne was ecstatic and Clay almost thought she would start dancing in every second.

"So here we…" her words trailed of as her eyes laid on her house the smile long gone.

"…are!"

* * *

**Cliffhanger! See what happens next chapter! And don't worry, the other dragons are gonna appear too but for now it's gonna be more ClayXKaryne!**

**Later!**

**angel-devil**


	7. An Old Acquaintance

**Yay! Done it so quickly! I'm happy now because I suddenly found pleasure in writing at this story again…not that before I didn't had any…I just lost it on the way. It sometimes happens to me! Anyway…on with the story!**

* * *

**An Old Acquaintance **

It was as thought a lightning bolt struck her, its raw energy malfunctioning her brain, burning it in an inferno of flames. She stopped thinking, her dazed eyes staring forward at the ruins of her house as her feet dragged her lifelessly toward it. Her pink orbs moved around it in hope of finding a place spared by the fire, but she only found memories.

Wherever she looked, an avalanche of thoughts kept hitting her. She inhaled deeply, her eyes stinging like being stabbed with thousands of needles. She quickly redeemed herself, clasping her hands on her face before the tears were out. She took in a shaky breath and turned around when a hand lightly squeezed her shoulder. She managed a smile as Clay took a hold of her hand and embraced her tenderly.

'_Yes…everything is alright! I'm safe!'_

"Don't worry! I won't let anything happen to mah lady!"

Karyne buried her face in his shirt, her sobs and cries being muffled as she let out all her pain and despair. It was just too much for her to bear. So many deaths on her conscious, so many lives taken away by her hands. And for what? For distracting her from the guilt she felt over her family's death.

Clay just stood there, holding his hands around the girl, gently stroking her back. When she finally calmed down, the feline looked up at him, her cheeks red and her eyes puffy and teary. "We should go somewhere else until I put some order in my thoughts."

He nodded. "Whatever ya say!"

They sat on a bench down at the lake. They didn't want to talk, afraid their words would break the silence hanging over their heads. They simply watched the water waving in the breeze as the fresh scent hit them head on. Karyne leaned her head on Clay's shoulder, eyes closed almost falling asleep in the peace and quiet.

The older boy, thought, wasn't feeling as relaxed as his girlfriend. He averted his gaze to the sky, seemingly absorbed by its reddish shade. He tried to push the bad side of his thoughts away but it wasn't as easy as he thought. They had to come back screaming like a siren that something…everything was wrong.

They were being followed.

By who? That was the question that kept nagging his brain. Since they entered the Underworld everybody looked at them so…why was so alarming now?

He sighed closing his blue eyes. When he opened them a black raven shot through the sky, its blood red eyes shining mysteriously. Clay instantly thought of Chase Young but they were in another realm so the chances were slim for him to find them. His body tensed as he watched the raven flew in the distance toward a castle built in the black stone walls of the Underworld.

He looked down at Karyne soundly asleep in his arms. He shook his head, deciding it would be better to let her rest for a while. Who knew what they would get themselves into later? He pulled his hat over his eyes as he slowly fell in a deep sleep as well.

**-(-)-**

The raven flew through the opened window and into a red tinted room, landing effortlessly on the arm of a chair sitting in front of a fire. A hand gently petted its feathers and the raven relaxed under its master care. The man stroking the bird stared deeply into the pit of dancing blue flames, his dark eyes glittering with the ferocity of the fire burning in front of him. A sinister smirk crept on his lips as he looked down at the animal.

"So she is here! It was the time for her to come back home!"

The bird stayed quiet still receiving the treatment for a job well done. The man turned to look back at the fire as his hand slowly sneaked to the raven's throat, grabbing it mercilessly while the poor bird struggled in vain in his strong grip.

"Finally something to do in this dungeon!"

His words echoed in the room, their venom staining the walls and making their crimson color almost shine in joy. The man stood up, the bird falling lifelessly on the carpet while he walked out of the room. As he closed the door, a tendril off blue fire shot out of the chimney, grabbing the raven's death body and pulling it inside before vanishing into thin air.

**-(-)-**

Karyne woke up to see Clay standing near the water, hands on his hips and a thoughtful look present on his face. She sat up rubbing her eyes and walked up to him. She gently cupped his hand into hers, leaning on his shoulder as he turned to look at her.

"Is something wrong, hon'?"

He was silent for a moment. "I think we're in for a lot of trouble!"

The feline laughed. "Well, we kinda came here looking for them, didn't we?"

Clay cracked a smile saying. "Are we going now, or do you still…"

Karyne looked down her smile turning upside down. "I'll be fine! We should go now!"

With a last look at the lake, and a small peek at her now destroyed house, the two teens both turned around and walked toward the black palace carved in stone until…

"Not so fast buddy!" a brawny, gray skinned boy stepped in front of them, cutting their way. He had spiky black hair, and black eyes with horns coming out of his forehead, elbows and knees. He wore only some black trousers, leaving his muscular torso revealed. He looked down at them, his black eyes as hard as steel.

"Hello Koran!" Both boys glanced at Karyne, Clay surprised while the other narrowed his eyes.

"Karyne!" he tilted his head in a way of saying 'hi' but remained quiet after that.

"So why are you here?" she asked again crossing her arms. "I doubt it's a courtesy meeting!"

"No it's not!" Koran closed his eyes snapping his fingers. "I've got some orders to carry out!" at his signal other demons came out from their hiding spots, coming closer to the two.

Karyne sighed. "And I thought you got over me dumping you fifty years ago!"

Clay frowned at her and in other situation he would have asked for explications but the demons closing in and ready to kill forced him to stay focused. The two of them took a stance, back to back as a circle formed around them.

"Attack!" at Koran's command they all leaped thrusting their claws or blades forward while Clay and Karyne dove down in order to dodge them.

Clay hurled his fist into the first guy's jaw before coming back with a roundhouse kick to his head knocking him into another and sending them both stumbling to the ground. He ducked as a sword came swishing above his head and slid in a low sweep kick, tripping his opponent before shoving his elbow in his gut.

Meanwhile, Karyne draw out her katana, slashing and cutting each and everyone that dared to attack her. She flipped backwards landing gracefully on her feet before bringing the blade horizontally with the ground and slicing through a demon's arm. She spun in place, throwing her leg in his head and then hand sprinted forward and away from the hit of a sharp lash.

The feline crouched down, her pink eyes studying her opponents as they closed the distance. A smirk crossed on her lips as she raised her sword, gripping the hilt in both hands. A battle cry escaped her throat as she jumped in the heat of the fight. Her knee made contact with one's head, her claws scratched other's skin and so on until a heap of bloody and bruised bodies stood around her.

She looked up in time to see Clay knocking out the last one and turned to her grinning, before glancing at Koran.

"Well…that was something!" exclaimed the demon impassive.

Karyne stared at him, her features unreadable. "Do we really have to do this?" she asked, a small drop of sorrow leaking through her words.

"We can avoid this partner! Just let us pass!" butted in Clay hoping to finish everything without a fight.

Koran on the other side, was thinking completely differently. He slowly took a stance, his body tense and black eyes flashing red for a second. Karyne sighed sheathing her katana and dropping in a crouch along with Clay. Koran, in front of them, flexed his fingers, his eyes glaring at his two enemies.

"Let's pump the party then!"

**-(-)-**

Raimundo sighed watching the sun disappear behind the mountain tops. He glanced over his shoulder at Omi and Kimiko getting up on Dojo and smiled as he ran up to them.

"Everything ready?" he asked grabbing the anorak from the sill and jumping on the dragon.

"As ready as it can be, boss!" answered Dojo waiting for Kimiko's confirmation before he could take off.

The Japanese girl was tapping impatiently on her phone until a bip was heard. She smiled victoriously and looked at the boys. "I've found him!"

"Good job girl!" she glanced at Raimundo sweetly when Omi shouted from behind her. "What are we waiting for then? Let's stone and sway!"

"ROCK AND ROLL!"

"What's the difference?"

**-(-)-**

Karyne blocked a punch from Koran with her forearm but the force of the blow was too strong and she was knocked off her feet. As she fell she quickly placed her palms on the ground and tossed her heel in his chin. Koran smirked and snatched her ankle before it made contact, throwing her in a nearby tree.

"Did you got soft on your stay at the surface?"

He ducked to the ground as a boulder flew past him and turned around in time to see Clay's fist. He frowned but stood his ground, beginning a hand to hand combat with the xiaolin dragon. Clay parried his every strike coming with strong hits of his own, forcing the demon to retreat.

Koran rolled out of the way as Karyne's claws passed by inches away from his hair and twisted in a butterfly kick, smacking Clay in his shoulder. The cowboy staggered clutching his soaring arm while Karyne leaped in the air coming down with a kick to the demon's head. He got out of the way but was stopped as stone walls suddenly surrounded him.

"Razor Roots!" Clay clasped his hands together as sharp wooden roots came out of the ground piercing through the stone ball. He glanced at Karyne who smiled and let go of his hands right when the stone cage exploded revealing Koran encircled by a red aura.

His eyes turned a crimson shade and a scowl adorned his face as his claws dug holes in the ground. His body shown only a few cuts but the most disrupting was the insane grin on his lips. "That was pathetic! Can't you do better human?"

"I doubt ya wanna see bette', but if ya insist! Karyne stay aside!" Clay fell in a fighting position, in the corner of his eye watching the pink haired girl shifting her gaze between them. He tightened his fists and shoved them in the ground as Koran ran to him.

"Wudai Crater Earth!" the ground cracked under him reaching to the black haired demon and pulling him down. Clay leaped in the air, tossing his fist in his jaw while Koran struggled to break free. "Sonic Punch!"

The strength of the attack literally split the ground in half, knocking the demon in the earth. As Clay came with another strike, Koran managed to roll out of the way, sliding his leg under his opponent and swiftly pulling it back before throwing the horn on his elbow straight for his neck.

Clay brought his arm up just in time to avoid the deadly hit, the horn only scratching deeply into his skin. He used the earth to propel himself backwards and to dodge a kick that smashed the rocks he has just been standing on, bending his body and preparing for his next attack.

Koran flipped in front of him launching a sudden punch in his stomach that took the dragon off guard and sent him flying in a tree. Karyne gasped reaching for her sword but she soon let it go closing her eyes. She inhaled deeply watching as Clay got up and hurled the tree back at him only for Koran to smash it in two and leap again at each other.

"Come on Clay! Finish him already!"

"Seismic Kick, Earth!" The cowboy finally landed a swift kick in the demon's jaw, unbalancing him before coming down with a punch in his chest. He prepared for another punch when Koran gripped his wrist, digging his sharp horn in his gut. The boy groaned in pain but didn't pulled back, using his free hand to smack his head.

The demon fell down, his vision temporarily a blur and the blood trickling down his chin. He looked up when everything became black around him. Clay clutched his bleeding side, letting the stones fell down his arm and smiled triumphantly. Karyne came beside him, kissing his cheek and helped him sit down.

"That was some really macho demonstration!" chuckled the girl as she took a look at his injury. "Why were you so keen on fighting him anyway?"

Clay sighed letting his head fall back. "It's gonna sound stupid to ya!"

"Oh come on!" she rent some cloth and used it clean a little the wound. "Promise I won't laugh!"

"Fine…Was he really yer boyfriend?"

Karyne stopped, the cloth handing in midair. She looked at him, her eyes wide opened. "You want to tell me that you almost got yourself killed only because you wanted to prove you strength to my ex?"

He smiled sheepishly at her rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorta…"

The feline closed her eyes, slowly closing her mouth and shook her head amused. "Boys will be boys I guess!"

"Right! Let's move on!" he tried to get up but was immediately pushed back by Karyne who looked sternly at him, like a nurse on a patient. "We're not going anywhere until I'm sure you'll be able to keep up with me in a fight. And trust me, I'll need you by my side in what will come up next!"

Clay brushed some hair out of her eyes trying to subdue the concern filling her beautiful orbs and stroked her cheek. "Everything will be fine!"

The girl smiled back. "I know!"

**-(-)-**

"Are you sure we're on the right way?" asked Dojo looking confused around him. "We've been looking around for hours and nada!" he glanced at Kimiko but she was busy talking with Raimundo and Omi so he gave up muttering to himself something about respectless children.

"Oh fine! I won't interrupt your little chat. Just go ahead, see if I care!" he climbed on some rocks and took a deep breath watching over the impressive valleys spreading beneath his…tail. He was about to get down when a small flash of light caught his eyes. The dragon approached the source and find a narrowed opening in the stone leading underground.

"Um…guys! I think I've found our way in!"

* * *

**So, this chapter was more of a filler indeed…but it also had some action right? And the rest of the gang appeared, as well as the bad guy! Three guesses who he is! *rolls eyes***

**See ya later!**

**angel-devil**


	8. Rage of the Blue Fire

**Here we are! The eighth chapter…and we are almost at the end! So the final fight starts now and will continue in the next chapter. That means yes…it's a cliffhanger!**

**Have a pleasant reading! **

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**Rage of the Blue Fire**

Clay and Karyne decided to spend the night at the lake in order for him to recover. He insisted they shouldn't stay there for too long and risk other demons finding them so the next day they were up and kicking. The two sneaked through the city avoiding as much as possible the crowded areas. They didn't meet any guards and that only added to their suspicions that Hades must have been preparing a trap.

The entrance to the castle waited for them wide open as well as the front door. Karyne rolled her eyes in exasperation. "If that doesn't scream trap then I'm a flying donkey!"

"We don' really have a choice, do we? Let's see what this guys has prepared for us!"

She nodded and continued to walk, Clay closely on her trails. The main hall was incredibly huge, decorated with white marble and with the three columns on each side made of some sort of black crystal. Their footsteps echoed in its vastness almost squashing them with their deafening intensity until they reached a massive stone door. They pushed the door opened, entering a very long corridor. Statues adorned both sided of the walls, impersonating men and women or other black creatures.

"This guys really likes black!" whispered Clay as he watched a black raven just like the one he saw the other day.

"I prefer to say that it portrays me best, human!" Clay snapped his head to the other end of the hallway watching as a man with jet black hair and eyes, wearing a red and black armor appeared in the doorway. He smiled mysteriously holding his hand behind his back in an elegant manner as he glanced at the two.

Karyne clenched and unclenched her fists, gritting her teeth as her glare laid on Hades. Clay slowly grabbed her shoulder keeping the girl in place at which the man raised an eyebrow but let it slide for now. "I'm sure you must be tired! Come with me please!"

Clay couldn't shake the bad feeling in the back of his head and beside him Karyne felt the same way. They finally made up their mind and reluctantly followed Hades as he walked through rooms and corridors.

They finally entered a chamber painted in a warm shade of violet. The sofas and cushions were black and the table in the middle was pure white, on its surface resting some cups and a teapot. In front of the sofas was a big chimney with the fire widely burning inside of it. he motioned for them to sit down as he poured some tea in three cups before dropping in a chair. The two followed his example and sat on the sofa while taking the offered cups.

"So…what brings you two here?" he asked taking a sip.

Clay watched the swirling tea almost expecting it to turn into some vibrant green poison. Karyne on the other hand was looking at the man not even blinking holding her cup in her stiff hand. "You should very well know my reason!"

Hades chuckled putting the cup down on the table and leaned back on his chair. "Do you really think you can kill a God?"

"I can try!"

"That's exactly why you impressed me so much back then!" he smiled amused at the girl enraged face and shifted his gaze on Clay. "You are a Xiaolin Dragon, right?" he continued after the boy nodded. "I've heard that you and your friends fought Lady Disha a while ago! I'm sure it was an interesting battle!"

He laughed quietly watching as Clay and Karyne exchanged glances. The blond cleared his throat before replying. "I don't want to be rude but why do ya care?"

"Well…I don't want to brag but I once had a close relationship with her…until she caught me with a fairy! Poor girl, she didn't survive to see the next day!" he sighed nonchalantly and drunk the rest of his tea.

Clay blinked in confusion. "How did you know her?"

Hades seemed taken aback but quickly composed himself and answered smiling. "I guess she is still angry with me! But if you are so bewildered by such news then I shall tell you…I'm one of the four Heylin Generals!"

Clay's eyes widened while Karyne gasped. "Oh damn it!" she turned to Clay puzzled. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing good! Y'know it would be better if we go!"

"WHAT? No way! This guy killed my family and I'm not walking away and let him live with it!"

"Why don't cha get into that thick skull of yers? Ya can't jump into fight with a God just like that!"

Hades watched their little argument with a smirk, supporting his head in his hand. He quickly got bored thought and sat up reaching for the exit. Clay and Karyne noticed him and stood up as well. Hades spoke as he left, his back turned to them.

"I want to say that it was a pleasure to discuss with you too and that I'll be waiting in the throne room when you'll be done! Be careful with the fire!" He closed the door behind him and the room suddenly fell in silence.

"Be done with what?" echoed the girl looking at Clay. "And what about the fire?"

"I think he meant that…"

Karyne followed his gaze, her eyes going like plates as she saw the fire suddenly turning blue and crawling out of the chimney. It slowly formed four legs ending with claws, a long body with a small head and a swishing tail. The blue fire turned into a black solid and smooth skin but the claws and tip of the tail remained blue prolonging on its back until it reached the head. The thing opened its eyelids and mouth revealing a serpent tongue and flickering blue eyes full of intent to kill and devour.

"Uh-oh!"

They couldn't do anything but yelp and duck when the creature suddenly threw its tail down slashing through the sofa they have just been standing on as well as the table, spilling the tea all over the floor. The salamander hissed in anger jumping on the chair and tossing its sharp claws at Clay.

The boy swiftly grabbed a cushion and smashed it into the amphibian. The blow wasn't strong enough to shove it out of the way since its claws still touched his skin creating two bleeding scratches. Ignoring them, Clay used the momentum to kick his leg in its side throwing the creature in the wall.

Karyne pulled out her katana and leaped beside it promptly drawing a cut on its neck before it got up. The salamander cringed in pain, locking its azure eyes on the girl and opened its mouth spitting a ball of blue flames.

She gasped, leaning backwards, the fire only burning the tips of her long hair when the creature gripped her leg, digging its claws through her boot and into her flesh. Clay was on it in a second, swinging his leg into its head and knocking it further in the crumbling wall. He took the girl in his arms and jumped on the other side of the room watching as the salamander slowly got up shaking its dizzy head.

"What in tarnation is that thing?"

Karyne checked her leg and deciding it was nothing serious she turned to look at the creature. "It's a fire salamander! They are said to be creatures made entirely of fire! I guess it is true!"

"Why that darn snake!"

"We're gonna go after him after we take care of his pet hon!" she winked at him and swiftly spun in a roundhouse kick aimed at the salamander's head. It composed itself and came back with its flaming tail. Clay smirked at the same time as he gripped it in his stoned covered hands, hurling it with a yell back in the wall. Karyne slid past him bringing her sword up and stabbing the creature in its neck.

It stayed there, hanged on the wall, its crimson blood marking the violet color of the room. The feline withdrew her blade, letting the salamander's limp body to fall on the floor before turning to Clay and high-fiving him.

She gently kissed him for a moment when the wall behind her erupted in wild sapphire flames. Clay pulled her out of the way just as a hiss was heard in the chamber.

"What the…"

Karyne cleared her throat getting the boy's attention. "I forgot to mention. When they're dead, fire salamanders turn back into their element…thought I don't know why it acts like that!"

True to her words, the blue fire split into tendrils whooshing in the room and burning everything they touched. Clay raised an eyebrow guarding his hat from the untamed show of lights. "Maybe Hades trained it to do that!"

"Yeah maybe! But let's get out of here before I lose all my hair, ok?"

Clay smirked thrusting his fist in the nearby wall. "Wudai Crater Earth!" Once the dusted cleared, they both left though the hole entering another corridor. "Do you know where is the throne room?" he asked.

"Nope! No idea!" replied the girl taking a random path. "But how big can this place be?"

**After an hour…**

"But _how big_ can this place be?" yelled Karyne frustrated as she leaned on a wall, taking in deep breaths of air.

Clay wasn't too far stretching his bruised shoulder. "I don't wanna know anymore what that thing was!"

"Good! 'Cause I didn't take a closer look at it! And to top it all, we're back from where we came!" she added pointing at the still fresh scorches that could easily be seen through the hole. "You would have thought this place had a map or something!"

"Why don't we ask someone?" suggested Clay catching a glimpse of a guy cleaning the floor inside the room.

The girl sighed and walked inside. "Um excuse me! Do you have any idea where we can find the throne room?"

He turned around and took a good look at her before shrugging. "Guess so! Go back in the corridor you've just come from, then take left, turn right at the first and walked forward. It's not hard to miss!"

"Thank you!" she waved as she left. "I got it! Now let's move before I'll lost it!"

**-(-)-**

"I cannot imagine how a master can stand such an unfriendly animal!" spoke Omi dusting himself while looking at the humongous dog lying unconscious on the ground. He turned to glance at his friends and saw Raimundo helping up Kimiko while Dojo came out from between the rocks.

"Is it clear?"

"Yes Dojo! Now let's continue our journey to find our missing friend."

Raimundo picked up the dragon and followed the bald monk through the gate. The four of them were greeted by the amazing sight of the Underworld from the houses and the crowded streets to the black castle on the opposite side.

"Bet five bucks Clay is there!" said Raimundo pointing toward the palace.

"No way! How did you know?" replied Kimiko sarcastically. Raimundo rolled his eyes smirking.

"Come on Dojo!" The dragon jumped of his shoulder and transformed in his huge size. The three climbed on him and he took off right away toward Hades residence.

**-(-)-**

The gate loomed over their heads like an omen bringing death. The black arched door slowly opened splitting the white symbol on it in two white crescents. The inside was a gigantic jet black hall with no windows on the walls, only a dome on the ceiling facing straight the silver moon on top of the sky.

On the other side, on a throne made of pure white marble stood Hades cross-legged and supporting his head in his fist. He grinned mischievously as he saw the two walking in the room so confidently.

He stood up, closing the distance. "I was starting to think that my pets got rid of you! It's good to see you're safe and sound…for now!" His voice darkened and with it a freezing wind started blowing, snapping the door shut and leaving no way out.

Karyne swiftly pulled out her katana, tightening the grip on her hilt as Clay crouched down next to her. The silence hanged over their heads for a second until Hades suddenly vanished, the smirk never leaving his face.

The two split up, each going sideways just as a hole appeared in the place they were standing followed by a cloud of dust and flying rocks. Clay quickly extended his left arm and a boulder tagged along his move, soaring through the air straight toward Hades. The man only raised his arm and the stone exploded before making contact.

Karyne came behind him, swinging her blade for a direct hit when it stopped abruptly in the air right beside Hades' neck. The god watched amused as the girl tried to move the sword and turned in time to see Clay coming down at him with a fist. Hades disappeared again, the blond hitting the ground while Karyne fell backwards since the force keeping her sword in place vanished as well.

He appeared in his throne, shaking his head. "You are not doing a good job at killing me, you know?"

The pink haired girl gritted her teeth, standing up and running toward him. She couldn't hear Clay yelling at her, her eyes locked on the one who destroyed her life. Karyne flipped in the air holding the katana above her head and swiftly brought it down right into the man's head. The blade cut through the stone throne, sending rocks flying in every direction but there was no Hades that was hit.

Her eyes widened when in the corner she saw the black haired man slowly stepping toward her. She turned around to face him but was too late as his hand grabbed her neck pinning her to the ground. Her fight with Chase Young suddenly came back to her and she remembered the same thing happening back then too. If it wasn't for…she didn't know who or what saved her…she wouldn't be alive.

She closed her eyes, feeling the air leaving her lungs when the pressure on her neck was pushed back. She opened them again looking straight into a pair of worried ocean blue. "Don't cha ever do that again!"

She nodded and Clay helped her up. They both turned to see Hades standing in a pile of rocks, dusting his armor as he flashed them a smirk. "I guess you're on!" His hands started to glow grayish all of the sudden and the black floor started to crack beneath their feet.

Skeletons rose from the gaps, holding swords, mallets or shields, some even missing parts of their bodies. They stepped threateningly toward the two stunned warriors getting ready to strike.

"I didn't know he could do that!" spoke the girl her voice losing her brave tone.

"He _is_ a God!" added Clay. "And it ain't a party without something smashed, right?"

"I have a feeling it's gonna be our bones!"

The cowboy smirked at the girl optimism and shouted. "Wudai Crater Earth!" Clay stomped his feet on the floor throwing waves of rocks at the army of skeletons. He thrusted his arms forward tossing two pillars on both sides before smacking them together along with everything between them.

Karyne took a breath, gripping the hilt of her sword and used a rock to flip in the air and in the middle of the crowd. She gracefully swung the blade around her, easily slashing through the poor bones of the skeletons. She twirled in a pirouette kicking with her legs the things approaching her while at the same time shoving her sword down their none existent throat.

She tried to make her way toward the place Hades was before she lost sight of him when he invoked the skeletons. It wasn't that easy seeing as they seemed to be more and more coming out and she couldn't take care of every one of them. Clay was busy enough taking out the dozens that attacked him and she couldn't ask for his help.

The feline growled her sword passing through another one and used the next one coming to jump in the air and run on their heads. Her eyes narrowed to slits at the sight of the man drinking carelessly from his new throne. She felt the anger building inside of her as her steps brought her closer to him.

"_You damn __**bastard**_!"

"Why hello, my dear!" he waved nonchalantly at her just as a grayish beam shot from his hand. It hit the mass of skeletons in front of her and she had to jump over it but that was exactly what he wanted. Hades snapped his fingers and the skeletons beneath her blended with each other forming a white puddle.

The girl gasped watching as thin white tendrils burst upwards grabbing her legs and pulling her down. She hit the floor with a thud glaring at the white creature that tried to drag her inside of it. Karyne swished her katana around, cutting through the tendrils and turned to look at Hades.

She hissed dangerously in his face but had to force her attention back at the white thing. It continued to strike blindly around it and Karyne swore under her breath as she flipped over a tendril, rolled out of the way of another, and ran beneath the creature. She met with Clay and swiftly stepped on his arm. Clay threw her up watching as she came down aiming her claws at the thing.

"Cat Claws Slash!" her claws cut through it dissolving it in an inoffensive white puddle again. She landed beside Clay and glanced at Hades who shrugged taking a sip from his drink.

The skeletons still kept closing in on them, forcing the two to step back. They were soon cornered, completely surrounded by the gruesome things. The fatigue was getting to them and the wounds they have received lately were starting to hurt again. It seemed there was no way out.

"Shoku Dark Cyclone Wind!"

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**Yay…the gang is finally together again, right? Well…you're gonna have to wait and see in the next chapter called 'In Hell'!**

**Kudos…angel-devil**


	9. In Hell

**Sorry! I planned on putting this chapter earlier but I hardly had any inspiration to write. I mean when it comes to fights, I'm quite troubled. Hope it's good enough! **

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**In Hell**

"Shoku Dark Cyclone Wind!" a strong gust of wind began swirling around them, sucking inside of it the skeletons approaching Clay and Karyne. The sheer power of the tornado broke them apart in seconds leaving in its dust a clear area around the two.

Clay turned around and saw Raimundo, Kimiko and Omi standing in the threshold (Dojo mysteriously vanished). Karyne on the other hand glared at the bald monk but nevertheless she was glad they could make it in time before they were chopped to shreds.

"Well, well…if there aren't the other Xiaolin Dragons!" spoke Hades stroking his chin as his eyes laid on each one of them. "Now the party is complete!"

Raimundo huffed. "Dude, you don't seem to be a good host from where I'm standing!"

"You are right!" the god snapped his fingers and more creature started to appear from the cracks in the floor. "Let's invite them in, shall we?"

"Great! This is an arrogant one!" muttered Kimiko before ducking away from a spear.

The skeletons leaped at them, forcing the three to split up. Omi took out the Shimo Staff and Spear of Barun, fighting with both of them and making his way through the waves of creature trying to reach Clay and Karyne. He slashed left and right, threw shots of water and ice but it didn't make any difference. They were still too many.

"Omi!" the bald monk turned to see Clay waving at him and the idea suddenly came rolling in his mind. He nodded and put back his two weapons glancing at Raimundo and Kimiko who nodded back.

"Swirling Whirlpool Water!"

"Stone Avalanche Earth!"

"Wudai Star Wind!"

"Wudai Mars Fire!"

The attacks mixed together, creating a thick wave of mud that covered the skeletons followed by a fire tornado that completely hardened it trapping the army beneath. Karyne watched from aside impressed by their team work and saw in the corner of her eye Hades doing the same.

"I didn' really thought ya would come all the way here for me!"

"Che! Do you really think we'll let you go so easily?" replied Raimundo patting the cowboy on his back.

"But…how didja know I was here?"

Kimiko rolled her eyes, their sapphire color sparkling. "Before you left I took care to give you one last present…in your hat!" she easily took the cowboy's hat and scooped from inside it what looked like a small chip.

"Why did ja…"

"Better safe than sorry!"

Clay put back his hat back on his head and glance at them smiling from ear to ear. "You guys…are the best friends someone could ever ask for!"

"I am most pleased that you are safe my friend…and I also accept the compliments!" smiled Omi kindly before looking around them. "But I think we don't have the time to talk about such things!"

"Short stuff is right!" Raimundo, Kimiko and a frowning Omi watched as Karyne approached them taking down a skeleton that wanted to jump on her with her katana. "If you are here than you can help us take down Mr. High and Mighty!"

The three dragons looked at the demon girl doubtfully but seeing as Clay trusted her the only thing they could do was trust him. "Fine. Let's do this!" Rai nodded at the other two and they took a stance in front of the forthcoming army of zombies.

"Thanks partner!...thanks a bunch!"

"Anytime big guy!" with that the five warrior leaped in the middle of the fight destroying the creatures and making their way toward Hades who was once again sitting carelessly on his newly repaired white throne.

**-(-)-**

The yellow eyed teen strode down the mountain path keeping his hand on the stone wall for support. The narrow path was bordered by the mountain on a side and an amazingly deep valley on the other side. The rays of the dawning sun stretched on the rocks, creating bending shadows between them and adorning their surface with a warm golden color.

As he walked the figure's fingers touched the freezing cold rock sometimes pushing it like he wanted to undercover a secret passageway. It worked like that until a boulder give away diving in the wall followed by the rocks crumbling down as if made of jelly.

The boy smirked his white fangs glittering in the sun light and stepped over the rocks and in the dark tunnel. Taking a deep breath he blew down in his hand letting out a jet of burning sapphire flames that gathered in his extended palm forming a ball of bluish light.

That being done, the boy started walking deeper until the light from the sun disappeared behind him the only source being from the ball of fire in his hand. His steps were oddly unheard through the narrow path the flickering of the dancing flames making the only sounds echoing as he walked.

In the end, the teen reached the entrance to a huge cave. The dome was arched emphasizing the thin lines running from the walls and meeting each other in the middle of the cave coming down with a stalactite. Right beneath it, there was a huge rock forming a small platform in the middle of the cave.

The boy swiftly paced in the center raising the hand that held the azure fire ball and watched it swirl until it flew in the air coiling around the down sided rock and letting the blue light spread all over his surroundings. With the source of illumination done, the boy kneeled in front of the platform starting to scrawl around it symbols in a weird language. When he was finished with that, he stood up and began chanting as his hands were engulfed in a black aura.

The symbols on the ground beamed with the same dark power, the pure energy beginning to spin in the middle of the platform until it formed a big black hole. He smiled the words still rolling one after another on his tongue and the magic in his arms grew stronger.

"_Stop it!"_

The smile quickly faded while the boy's yellow eyes rested on the white orbs watching him from within the black hole. _"That's enough! It won't work further! You're only going to kill yourself, boy!"_

The teen huffed letting the energy drop from his body. The voice snapped again at him, joy and amusement obvious in its tone. _"Don't you dare look at me like that you stubborn brat!"_

"You're not the one to talk old man! Look what you did to yourself!"

"_Good I have someone to remind me that!" _the voice replied sarcastically. It sighed afterwards taking a more serious hint as it spoke. _"What has been happening since I was banished?"_

The boy sat down cross legged. "Many things Mr. Know-It-All!" the eyes in the black portal visibly twitched but the master chose to remain silent and listen to what his servant was telling it.

**-(-)-**

Kimiko sighed in relief as the last skeletons fell down completely burned from the rage of her flames. Raimundo and Omi stepped by her side while Clay helped Karyne stand up before they all turned their glares to the ruler of the Underworld. From the throne, Hades smirked clapping at them. Each hit echoed in the huge hall tensing the five teens and making them drop in a stance as the man stood up.

"Very impressive, dragons! But let's see how much you can resist against me!"

"Considering the fact that you cheated?" the cat demon threw back scowling.

Hades tilted his head smirking. "I prefer to call it matching the score! It is five against one after all!" He motioned for them to come the smirk still playing on his lips. "Still…I can take you on anytime so it's no difference in spite of everything you think."

"Ugh! I so hate guys like you!" yelled Kimiko quickly throwing a fire ball at him. Hades evaded the attack easily and slowly side stepped Karyne's sword as it came swishing beside him. He reached out trying to grab the girl but met only thin air. Rolling his eyes the man leaned forward in a bow while the katana moved above his head. He swiftly shoved his leg backward catching the girl in the shin and turned around ready to punch her.

But it wasn't Karyne that he hit, it was a wall of black stone from behind which a tendril of water shot forward striking the man straight in his chest. Hades slid backwards as Omi came from within the dust throwing spikes of ice at him. The black haired god though vanished out of sight and appeared behind the monk only to be thrown in the wall by a gust of wind and bombarded furiously by endless fire arrows.

Still, that didn't keep the god down for two long. He swiftly put up a shield that blocked all of Kimiko's attacks and a extended it afterwards creating spears of gray energy going all over the room mainly for his opponents. Using their quick reflexes all five of them succeeded in avoiding being hit but that was everything Hades needed.

He suddenly appeared behind Clay smacking the cowboy in his head knocking him out and throwing him in the wall creating a dent only good for him to fit in. He smirked hearing the others yelled for their friend and quickly materialized in front of Omi taking the monk by surprise. Hades swiftly whacked him in the stomach followed by a punch in his jaw that sent the bald monk flying in the air and on the other side of the room.

He turned in time to block Raimundo's kick grasping his ankle and throwing him like a ragged doll after Omi. Rai used the air to balance his landing and came back at the man with a succession of punches and kicks.

Hades blocked a kick with his knee and Raimundo made use of that to leaped in the air before a ball of fire exploded in front of his opponent. He glanced thankfully at Kimiko and spun in a crouch thrusting his palm towards Hades just as the wind picked up and sent him a the wall.

"That was some good playing!" The man chuckled as he stood up dusting his armor. "But as you can see, you have to do better than that!"

"No problem!" yelled the demon girl jumping at him with her claws extended. "Cat Claws Slash!" her sharp nails glowed pink making them look longer and terrifying although the God shook his head.

"What didn't you understand?" he caught her hand effortlessly pulling her closer and fixing his black eyes in her pink ones. "No demon can defeat me!"

Karyne on the other hand smirked. "It hasn't been proved!" She flipped backwards landing in a crouch while Raimundo and Kimiko stepped behind her.

"You really think it's gonna be that easy?" he chuckled. "You are dead wrong kiddies!"

He all of the sudden leaped forward his hand charged with gray energy. The three jumped out of the way, Rai and Kim on the sides while Karyne behind, as Hades thrust his fists in the floor resulting in a huge explosion. Raimundo cursed watching the cloud of dust spreading in the room blocking him from seeing the girls or anything for that matter. He placed his hands above his head ready to cleared the dust with a gust of wind when he felt the air leaving his lungs and in the next second, his back crashing painfully with the wall.

He fell on his knee and looked up in time to dodge a blade aiming for his head. Rai got up to see Hades standing in front of him holding a black sword but he quickly had to step backward to avoid a slash pointed at his chest. He continued to duck under each slash being forced to retreat until the dragon found an opening and fast made use of it.

With a smirk, Rai stretched his fingers of his right hand feeling the wind moving around it and used his free hand to hit Hades wrist knocking the blade out of his grasp. He swiftly brought his hand in a vertical archway letting the wind channeling through his hand to cut through the armor.

Hades scowled down at the brown haired boy, his hand making its way to the his wrist and gripped it shoving him in the wall before he kicked him in the guts and let his body fall down unconscious. The man looked on the cut in his armor slightly surprised that someone could destroyed it. Fortunate for him the blow didn't reached his skin. Hades recovered his sword when an angry yell reached his ears.

"You can't hide your disgusting scent!"

The man swung his sword behind blocking with a clang the demon girl's katana. He slowly turned around catching the girl's blazing eyes and pushed on his sword watching Karyne struggling to stay on her feet. The blade shone with a grayish radiance making the girl gasp as the flow of power rolled in waves around her. Chuckling darkly down at her, Hades simply flicked his wrist consequently knocking the katana out of Karyne's hand with his own blade and sent a slash of energy at her.

"Damn it!"

The feline hand sprinted backwards trying to put as much distance as she could between she and her opponent while at the same time letting the blade of energy pass by inches away from her face, cutting as it went a few strands of her long pink hair. Karyne gritted her teeth raising protectively her hands in front of her when Hades leaped at her again. She bent down letting the black sword go by her shoulder and raised her leg for a kick in his side. Hades easily blocked it with his free hand and swung his leg beneath the girl's unbalancing her.

In the last moment Karyne struck her hand to the ground flipping beside him and turned around with a perfect roundhouse kick at the man's head. Hades griped her ankle and brought down his blade but before it could make contact, Karyne used her free leg to propelled herself in the air spin in place and strike Hades in the chest. The feline gracefully landed right when a barrage of fireballs hit their target behind her.

"Just to make it clear! You attack my boyfriend and you'll get some bad burns pall!" Kimiko winked at the feline offering her a hand and together they took a stance in front of the cloud of dust formed from the previous attack.

"Well ladies…" the two girls watched as the god slowly stood up his armor wearing scorches from Kimiko's fire but his black eyes sparkling with an odd amusement. "Since you are the last ones standing I want to propose you a change. What if we take this to a higher notch?"

The dragoness' sapphire eyes narrowed at him. "What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about…how do you call it…a xiaolin showdown, right? You can use whatever you want and if you win you are free to go…all of you!"

The girls exchanged a quick glance before glaring back at the dark lord smiling innocently at them. "What happens if we lose?"

"If you lose then, you'll be trapped in here forever!"

The two dropped their stances. Karyne turned to look at Kimiko expectantly but only received a frown. "Why are you looking at me?"

"I don't know! You're the expert in xiaolin stuff!"

The raven haired girl sighed blowing the strands out of her eyes. "Fine! Let's do it!"

In a flash of bright white light the scenery changed. The ceiling was covered in stone with long sharp stalactites falling in the dark abyss that was once the floor. From beneath them came up stalagmites some of them big enough for a person to stand on but others pointing their piercing tips upwards or connecting with the ones going down.

The two girls stood on two different rocks on the opposite side hovering in the air appearing out of nowhere Hades holding his black sword. "Let's start, shall we?"

He flew at them at neck breaking speed, his sword raised in front of him. Karyne did the same now that she had recovered her katana while Kimiko backed her up from above. The petite Japanese girl leaped from rock to rock watching as the two clashed beneath her in a fight of will. Karyne was pushed back but she recovered in midair and landed safely on a stalagmite while Hades came at her again swinging his sword above his head.

Without any hesitation Kim sent a blast of fire down at him that he sliced in two and then jumped on his back kicking him in the head with her heel. The god staggered in the air but finally seemed to regain his stability and it was too late as Karyne's sword easily slashed through the cut in his armor letting the blood ooze freely.

Hades scowled and vanished appearing a little ways further from the girl. His eyes burned in rage seeing the two high fiving but quickly composed himself becoming again calm and collected. "That was impressive!...for some little girls!"

As he expected, his two opponents let their incredibly huge temper flare up although Karyne seemed a little more controlled. Kimiko on the other hand, gathered the fire in her arms and leaped at him throwing them in a cross with a yell.

"Phoenix Strike Fire!"

From her hands flew a bird extending its flaming wings and illuminating a big part of the cave flying straight at the wounded god standing on the tip of a rock. He smirked as it got closer and disappeared out of the way, teleporting in front of the stunned girl and bringing the glittering blade in front of her.

"Kimiko!"

Karyne jumped beneath her just in time to catch the girl by her wrist before she fell in the dark pit. Kim coughed in her arms, the blood trickling in the corner of her mouth as her pain filled azure orbs looked up at the feline. She clutched her bleeding chest and smiled slightly at her. "Just give him…hell!"

Karyne barely held herself from shedding tears as she slowly put down the unconscious girl. "Damn it!" Even if she just met her, the demon felt like she found a very good friend in the dragon of fire. And right now she was forced to watch her suffer at the hand of the same man that brought hell in her life as well as in her mind. "**Damn you, Hades!**"

With a threatening roar, the cat demon leaped at him her claws clashing with the blade sending sparks in the air. Hades smiled pleased at her swinging his sword in a circle until the girl retreated her claws and came at him with a punch. The god as well pointed the tip of his weapon at her chest thrusting it forward as the girl stepped toward him. Karyne slid swiftly out of the way twirling in a roundhouse kick but in the last second used his arm to leap in the air and bring her other knee in his temple. The hit took Hades by surprise but he kept his mind collected and positioned the blade in the way of her landing gaining a deep cut on her thigh. The girl yelped in pain falling on the ground on her stomach Hades hovering above her with black emotionless eyes.

"It's over girl!"

He raised his sword switching his grip so the blade faced the ground and quickly swiped it through the air. Karyne waited on the ground, her eyes shut tightly expecting the excruciating pain that was soon to come. But it never came! She only heard a hiss of pain and the clang of a sword falling on the ground.

"Curse you dragon!"

The feline looked up watching amazed Kimiko standing on the rock she left her on earlier, breathing heavily and her hand still fired up in their direction. Tilting her head her eyes widened as they laid on Hades clutching his burned hand and glaring at the dragon of fire. She suddenly smirked shoving her heel in his exposed stomach. He stepped back holding his side and glared back at the cat demon.

"That's the power of the girls, you freaking bastard!" She swiftly jumped in a crouch and dug her claws in his neck watching with a smirk the surprised look on his face. "Cat Claws Slash!" In an instant four deep cuts adorned Hades' neck, the only sound he could make being some strangled moans before he was pushed in the blackness of the void beneath.

"And we won!"

In the same bright light the battlefield returned in the throne room and Karyne, supporting a badly injured Kimiko watched as Hades stood up holding a hand over his sliced throat and his eyes glowing with wrath and hatred. "Leave!"

The boys were finally up and glancing at the exchange confused, but nonetheless complied. Rai picked up Kimiko bridal style while Clay kissed Karyne on her cheek and Omi looked simply confused rubbing his sore chin.

At the entrance Dojo magically appeared. "So what did I miss?"

The others only glared at him without a word and they all left from the Underworld with a new enemy on their backs.

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**So here it is! Most likely I completely screwed the fight scenes but I tried my best to make them good. Yeah…can't say I'm happy with this chapter but I'm glad I finished it! I was worried I'll get to 4.000 words. The next two chapters are already done but I hardly think they can be named chapters as they are soooo short. I'll put them later anyway! So, with all that being said…I wish you a Merry Christmas! **

**See ya later!**


	10. Last Words

**Not so much to say...yet!**

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**Last Words**

After they have returned from the Underworld and presented Karyne to Master Fung, the four monks spent their time relaxing due to the exhaustion from the fight and the need to know the demon girl better. Clay was happy his friends accepted Karyne although Omi still had his doubts about her, showing them in one of his sexist remarks and gaining the wrath of both the demon and Kimiko.

Raimundo really liked her company, too much in Kimiko's perspective, and he formed a strong friendship bond with her…something like a brother-sister. They both liked to annoy Omi and have fun and Karyne finally learned from him how to chill out.

Kimiko as well started to befriend her, both sharing a love for fashion and the need to get some senses into the bald monk. Kimiko taught the girl how to use the internet and also gave her a phone…that Karyne broke on Dojo's head when he sneaked up on them after sensing a shen-gong-wu.

"I guess I'm not in step with the technology! Hehe…" Dojo rubbed his head scowling at the girl and left the room waiting for the monks outside.

"Are you coming?" asked Clay as he came out of his cubicle.

Karyne smiled sweetly at him. "I'll catch up with you…I need to pass by my house!" she kissed him lightly on the cheek and ran out in the garden and over the temple wall.

The xiaolin dragons left heading to Malaysia, in search for the Celestial Horn, a shen-gong-wu that had the ability to call upon any mythical creature.

They hovered above an exotic beach and Dojo easily landed on the thin sand. The water was as pure as crystal and no wind was blowing through the soft leaves of the palm trees. Also there was no sign of Jack Spicer around so the teens had an easy catch.

Back at the temple, Clay searched for Karyne all over the place and even asked the monks for her but he still didn't find anything. Not even the others succeeded in finding her so the dragon of earth went back to his room wondering where could the girl have gone to.

What he found was more than he could ask for.

_Dear Clay,_

_I'm sorry for leaving you without saying even goodbye…but I just felt like I should go. I couldn't stand saying it face to face. What a coward I am, right? Hee…Well, some things are harder than you may think!_

_Anyway…thank you for everything! It was the best adventure I've ever been through! And your friends are incredible and they really care for you. Even if I stayed at the temple for only a couple of days, I became good friends with them and started to know more about their personality and stuff…they are amazing people! Yes, even Omi! Despite his cold attitude and stupid ideas about girls, he is a sweetheart…it's hard to stay mad on the little guy…_

_But from all these people, I've decided to fall in love with you! And what I wanted to say is how much I love you Clay and believe me I will never give up on my cowboy! Never will I stop thinking how much you've changed me and how you brought up what was deep inside my heart! You showed me the path to become a better person and how to accept my past and for that I am very thankful!_

_Don't you think this is a goodbye letter…we will meet in the future and I hope our feelings will remain the same, because I know for one that I will never love another as I love you. And no…I don't abandon you! But I'm skeptic the council of the monks would have let me stay at the temple so easily._

_Heck…I am a demon! My place is not between the mortal and moreover, between people with such strong concepts about demons! Who knows…I could have slay you in the middle of the night as a reward for saving my cute little butt! (Don't deny it! I saw you staring at it!) _

_So…I hope you'll cope with everything…you're a man for god's sake!_

_Now…the other matter! You're probably – most likely- wondering where I have gone to. I don't know either…guess I'll know after I'll get there! In any case I'll travel around the world. Promise I'll try to control my thieving activities. If not then…sorry I tried!_

_I'm sorry if everything is so fast! I swear I'll come back at you some other time. For now, I need to clear my mind and relax after what had happened back in the Underworld. I hope you won't be too mad at me…_

_With Love,_

_Karyne _

_P.S.: Don't worry about Spicer! I took care of him! You shouldn't see him for a while and no…I didn't kill him…I've just played with him! *evil cat smile*_

Clay couldn't help the smile forming on his lips after reading the last sentence. Though it vanished quickly as his eyes laid on the beginning of the letter. She left…but not for too long he realized.

He carefully folded the paper and put it in his chest with all his things before laying down on the mat watching intently the ceiling. "This surely ain't the end of the world!"

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**This had been planned since the beginning but I didn't think it would be so short. Anyway, up next is the epilogue!**


	11. It's Still On

**Thanks to all those who reviewed and put my stories to their alerts or favorites. I really appreaciate the support! **

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**It's still on**

A flap of wings brought Hades out of his thoughts. He slowly tilted his head averting his black eyes from the wall and watched as a figure stood up, his black wings disappearing behind his back. He smirked and turned back to stare at the wall. "You still don't like to use the front door as everybody else, don't you?"

"Better make my own way in!" he replied the same smirk playing on his lips as well. "And what are you doing? Licking your sore wounds?"

Hades narrowed his eyes, the smile vanishing and being replaced with a frown. "What about you? Why are you staying in the shadows instead of heading right now to the dragons and destroying them?"

The boy rolled his slit yellow eyes. "A good plan requires time and preparations! It's good to surprise your enemies when introducing yourself for the first time! And I intend on amazing them by showing Master's strength!"

"In other words…you hide and wait for _that _to come!" said the man closing his eyes. "It's a good plan! But can you perform the ritual?"

The figure smirked, showing his fangs as the jet black wings grew back in a storm of feathers. "You're just gonna have to wait and see, Hades!"

He flew out on the window leaving the ruler of the Underworld alone in the room. He opened his eyes this time shining with a steel determination and wish for revenge. "To surprise your enemies…What a good idea!" he stood up, his black mantle subtly brushing over the chair as he walked toward the door.

"It's still on, dragons!"

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**As you might have guessed it's gonna be a sequel but I'll be having a break from this series and concentrate on my other stories, namely 'Waltzing with Death' and a new one 'Off World' as well about Xiaolin Showdown. Until next time minna!**


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